Powdery Mildew Of Strawberries And Strawberries

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

Powdery mildew affects all aerial parts of strawberries and strawberries: berries, antennae and leaf petioles with leaf blades. This attack causes the greatest harm in greenhouses, and warm and humid air contributes to this. If the summer is wet, powdery mildew develops quite actively in the open field, depleting berry crops throughout the season. If powdery mildew attacked strawberries with strawberries at the stage of their development and ripening of berries, then you can lose not only the crop, but also the plants themselves

A few words about the disease

On the undersides of strawberry and strawberry leaves affected by powdery mildew, a white, barely noticeable powdery coating appears. Infected leaves become leathery, and their edges curl in the form of boats. Infected plants appear depressed and have a bronze coloration. And a little later, brownish necrosis appears on the lower sides of the leaves attacked by powdery mildew.

On the antennae and on the central leaves, the powdery bloom is more pronounced, especially towards the end of the growing season. Severely affected rosettes do not take root well after transplantation and are distinguished by a rather ugly shape. And the affected antennae often curl. As for the ovaries and buds with flowers, then the harmful ailment is usually little noticeable on them. However, when the berry bushes begin to bloom, this attack interferes with normal fertilization and pollination.

In its manifestation, powdery mildew vaguely resembles the gray rot of strawberries and strawberries, since the berries attacked by the disease are also covered with a whitish bloom. And for them, in the same way, a rather unpleasant smell of mold is characteristic. The berries become ugly, dry and underdeveloped, covered with a waxy coating and acquire a mushroom flavor and smell.

Powdery mildew spreads with planting material or wind, and its development is largely facilitated by high humidity. Humid warm air is a very favorable environment for the development of this scourge. The pathogen overwinters on infected leaves and other parts of vegetation.

How to fight

An important role in the fight against powdery mildew of strawberries and strawberries is assigned to keeping berry plantings clean and systematic thinning of plants. And new plantings are recommended to be laid exclusively with the help of healthy planting material.

You should also be aware that powdery mildew will manifest itself to a much lesser extent if you grow strawberries with strawberries in high ridges, in vertical and in suspended culture. In no case should you fertilize strawberry and strawberry plantings with manure, and you should not add excessive doses of nitrogen fertilizers.

When combating this unpleasant ailment, berry plantings are recommended to be dusted with sulfur or sprayed with pesticides: a one percent suspension of TMTD or colloidal sulfur, as well as a one percent ISO solution. Such treatments are carried out after flowering, as well as after the berries have been harvested. It is also important to ensure that the solutions also fall on the undersides of the leaves.

Strawberries and strawberries grown in the open field are sprayed with the preparation "Quadris" for preventive purposes. This is usually done at the stage of spring regrowth of young leaves. Such treatments will be especially expedient in areas of particularly strong powdery mildew damage. And if signs of a dangerous illness have already appeared, then after picking the berries, strawberries and strawberries are sprayed with drugs such as Bayleton, Switch or Fundazol.

Also, before flowering and at the end of the collection of berries, berry plantings are first treated with a copper-soap emulsion (for ten liters of water, 20 g of soap and copper sulfate are taken for this), then "Azocene" (for ten liters of water - 20 g of the drug) and a little later - "Topaz" (it will need only 5 g for ten liters of water).