Diseases Of Strawberries - Late Blight And Black Rot

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

We continue our conversation about strawberry diseases

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A disease such as late blight rot is a leathery disease. It should be noted that this particular disease is considered one of the most dangerous. Sometimes a disease can completely rob you of your harvest.

The disease will affect the aerial organs of strawberries: berries, flowers, inflorescences, stems and buds. Of course, this fungal disease can cause the greatest harm to berries. On the already ripe berries, rather hard leathery spots appear, which will be brown in color and with a lilac tint. The affected part of the berry acquires firmness. Diseased berries taste very unpleasant and bitter. As for green berries, they will be covered with spots of light brown color, which have a darker center. These berries are quite tough and, of course, taste bitter. Over time, the berries will begin to dry, and then mummified altogether. The spots have irregular shapes, and the color will be brown towards the end of the disease. The fungus will make its way to the top of the stem, which will lead to the acquisition of the stem of a brown color, the base of the leaf petioles will die off. Actually, this fungus can penetrate into the roots of the plant themselves. A thick white bloom will appear on diseased organs, and this is especially true for berries. The presence of drip-liquid moisture will contribute to a more rapid course of this disease. After heavy rains, the disease occurs most often. At the end of May, you can see signs of the disease on the inflorescences, and in June-July, the berries are almost completely affected. The causative agent of the disease can spend winter in the soil or on plant debris.

As for the method of struggle, you should choose extremely healthy seedlings. In addition, the norms of crop rotation should be observed, the correct irrigation regime and the selection of the necessary fertilizers will also be very important. Before flowering, the plant can be sprayed with an appropriate product such as metaxil.

There is another harmful disease called fusarium wilting. This disease has its destructive effect on the aerial part of the strawberry, however, it also affects the root system as a whole. Over time, the diseased plant will change in color, begin to wilt, and eventually dry up completely. Ovaries do not appear on a diseased bush. The diseased plant itself will stop growing, and then it will die altogether. The brownish color of the plant is a sign of the most massive destruction of strawberries. Hot weather is optimal for the development of such a disease. As for the sources of such an infection, weeds and the soil itself can become them, because the fungus retains its viability for several years.

Correct crop rotation and careful selection of strawberry predecessors will be the best preventive measures. It is also very important to use exceptionally healthy seedlings. At the first signs of this disease, spraying with the necessary preparations should be carried out: for example, with foundation. The use of such drugs together with irrigation water by means of a drip tube is especially effective. As a preventive measure and in the early stages of the development of the disease, trichoderma should be used.

A disease such as black rot will attack the berries. Sick berries acquire a brown color, they do not smell, but they literally taste nothing. Initially infected berries will be covered with a colorless bloom, which then darkens. The causative agent of this disease can develop on literally any material that is prone to decay. High temperatures and high air humidity will be favorable factors for the course of the disease. You can eliminate the use of chemicals if you grow strawberries in high beds. As for the chemical methods of struggle, this includes spraying with Ordan in the fall, and in the spring, such drugs as switch or euparen should be used.