Strawberry Vertical Wilt

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Strawberry verticillary wilt is a rather unpleasant and destructive disease. On light sandy soils, bushes of fragrant strawberries can die in just three to four days, and on sandy loam and loamy soils, the ill-fated attack usually proceeds a little slower. If verticillary wilting becomes chronic, the number of strawberry leaves will noticeably decrease, and they will begin to lag behind in growth. By the end of the growing season, the petioles will turn red, and the bushes themselves will become dwarf and rather flat. First, the lower, older leaves die, and some time later the same fate overtakes the whole bush

A few words about the disease

The causative agent of verticillary wilt affects strawberry roots, bushes rosettes, root necks and the vascular system. Initially, the infected bushes slightly "settle", and after a while the leaves begin to lie down radically. In the middle of the strawberry bushes, you can see the appearance of tiny chlorotic leaves. And on the petioles with antennae, bluish-black or brownish specks or stripes are often formed.

Old and outer leaves on strawberry bushes wither, dry out and droop during the development of a harmful misfortune, and the edges of the leaves and their interveinal spaces are painted in dark brown or red-yellow tones. Relatively few new leaves are formed on the bushes attacked by verticillary wilting, and those that have formed almost always lag behind in growth, and also wither and curl along the veins. Bushes heavily affected by the ill-fated ailment are characterized by short stature, they quickly droop, and the leaves on them gradually turn yellow.

If you cut the rhizomes attacked by a harmful scourge, then you can find pronounced brownish vascular rings on them. When strawberry bushes are affected by verticillary wilting quite strongly, the vessels located in the antennae and in the leaf petioles are often stained. Most often, the ill-fated ailment begins to manifest itself at the stage of ovary growth, and in old plantings, the manifestation of symptoms can sometimes be noticed only before the start of picking berries.

The causative agent of such an unpleasant disease is the pathogenic fungus Verticillium, which can live on many vegetables and weeds, which easily turn into dangerous sources of infection. And the main source of infection is considered to be the soil in which the pathogen can maintain its viability for many years.

If verticillary wilting manifested itself in the first year of strawberry development, then by the second and third years it can lead to wilting and subsequent death from 30% to 50% of the plants. In most cases, for correct identification of the disease, tissue samples of the affected strawberry should be taken and sent with them for further analysis to a specialized laboratory.

How to fight

One of the main preventive measures against strawberry verticillary wilting is adherence to agrotechnical rules. It is allowed to grow strawberries in the same place for no more than three to four years, and it is returned to its original place after at least six years. It is not recommended to plant this crop in areas where roses, chrysanthemums, potatoes, blackberries, peppers, tomatoes, mint, melons, eggplants, stone fruits or other crops susceptible to verticillary wilt have been grown over the past five years.

When laying beds, it is important to ensure that all planting material is of high quality and healthy. The soil should ideally be well-drained, light and fertile. Waterlogged and low-lying areas should be avoided. The cultivation of resistant varieties will also do a good job. And immediately before planting, it is recommended to dip the roots in solutions of such biological products as "Humate" or "Agate".

Heavily infected bushes found on strawberry beds must be promptly removed from the site and destroyed. Berry bushes slightly affected by the disease are sprayed with Benorat or Fundazol preparations.