Figure 1. Botrytis fruit rot often starts beneath the calyx where moisture can get trapped, along with petals, where it will persist long enough for the pathogen to germinate and infect the fruit. (photo by G. J. Holmes) A recently published paper in Phytopathology by Naegele et al. adds to the work done by Cosseboom … Continue reading New publication confirms trends in fungicide resistance
Author: Gerald Holmes
Botrytis and Bees
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get bees to deliver an effective agent to strawberry flowers that would protect them from infection by Botrytis cinerea? Researchers in Sweden (Iqbal et al. 2022; https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-05-21-0205-R) used bumblebees to pick up a biocontrol fungus (Aureobasidium pullulans) and deliver it to strawberry flowers, reducing Botrytis fruit rot by … Continue reading Botrytis and Bees
What is the most popular strawberry cultivar grown in California?
It depends on what year(s) you're interested in and if you're talking about public or proprietary cultivars. For example, if you're talking about 2022, 'Monterey' was the most popular public cultivar, grown on 10,003 acres or 33.4% of the total acreage grown in the state. Proprietary cultivars are those held by private companies such as … Continue reading What is the most popular strawberry cultivar grown in California?
Highest rainfall in 18 years
The much-needed rainfall this year has already exceeded annual rainfall for the previous 18 years and we still have two months to go before we're out of our normal wet season. As of January 17, 2023 rainfall for the current Water Year (measured from July 1 to June 30) is at 36.5 inches (927 mm) … Continue reading Highest rainfall in 18 years
New publication reports efficacy of UV-C against powdery mildew in FL and CA
A recent publication by Mello et al. reports that strawberry powdery mildew (SPM) was reduced by nighttime application of UV-C to field plots at 200 J m-2 . Disease reduction was equivalent to that provided by weekly fungicide applications in CA and superior to that provided by twice weekly fungicide applications in FL. No negative … Continue reading New publication reports efficacy of UV-C against powdery mildew in FL and CA
Off-cycle Zythia leaf blotch
We usually see Zythia leaf blotch (caused by Zythia fragariae) during the early spring when plants are small and the weather is cool and wet. With summer planting in Santa Maria occurring in May, especially in fields close to the coastline where fog and heavy dews are common, the same conditions exist (i.e., small plants … Continue reading Off-cycle Zythia leaf blotch
Tunnel plastics, UV and powdery mildew
In the vast majority of seasons, powdery mildew (PM) (caused by Podosphaera aphanis) is the most economically important foliar disease of strawberries in California. Many growers have observed that PM is particularly destructive in glasshouses and under plastic tunnels. This could be due to the difference in temperature and relative humidity or to filtering UV … Continue reading Tunnel plastics, UV and powdery mildew
Why don’t we grow strawberries from seed?
Figure 1. Bareroot strawberry transplant straight from the box and ready to plant. (this and all subsequent photos by G. J. Holmes) Virtually all strawberry plants grown to produce fruit were planted as a transplant. Transplants take on many forms, but in California we use bareroot transplants (Fig. 1). Why not use seeds instead? Those … Continue reading Why don’t we grow strawberries from seed?
New research shows 1,3-D is effective against Macrophomina
A new publication by Baggio et al. (2022) out of the University of Florida provides evidence that 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) alone and in mixture with chloropicrin were more effective in reducing inoculum of Macrophomina phaseolina than chloropicrin alone. We generally think of 1,3-D (known under the trade name TELONETM) as an effective nematicide with minor efficacy … Continue reading New research shows 1,3-D is effective against Macrophomina
Rhizopus rot or “leak”
Figure 1. Rhizopus rot is diagnosed by the conspicuous sporulation on the fruit surface. Under high humidity, sporulation appears "hairy" but is more appressed under drier conditions. Rot progresses very quickly and fruit become liquified within a couple of days. (photo by G. Holmes) June is here and temperatures are rising. Along with rising temperatures … Continue reading Rhizopus rot or “leak”
What can we learn from Macrophomina in chickpea?
It's helpful to look at similar systems to learn more about your own. For example, we can learn a lot about Macrophomina in strawberries by looking at the diseases this fungus causes in many other crops where it has been studied more intensively. A recent paper in the journal Plant Disease reviews dry root rot … Continue reading What can we learn from Macrophomina in chickpea?
RECENTLY PUBLISHED: Fungicide resistance in strawberry powdery mildew in California
Strawberry powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera aphanis, is an important disease in California strawberries (Fig. 1). Strawberry Center master's student Michael Palmer recently published his work on fungicide resistance in the journal Plant Disease (https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-12-20-2604-RE). Because P. aphanis is an "obligate parasite" all of the experiments were done using live plant tissue (Fig. 2). This … Continue reading RECENTLY PUBLISHED: Fungicide resistance in strawberry powdery mildew in California
Classic Botrytis data from 1987
Figure 1. Botrytis fruit rot (gray mold) showing typical gray sporulation beginning under the calyx and spreading towards the tip. A lot of people never heard the word "epidemic" (the rapid spread of a disease), "pandemic" (spread of a disease over a wide area) or "epidemiology" (the study of how disease spreads) until the COVID … Continue reading Classic Botrytis data from 1987
Bronzing caused by frost
Figure 1. Mild bronzing caused by frost on white fruit of cultivar Monterey. This level of bronzing will be harder to detect when the fruit turns red. In my last post, I showed a bunch of photos of frost injury. Later I noticed another effect: Bronzing (Figs. 1, 2 & 3). Just like misshapen fruit … Continue reading Bronzing caused by frost
Frost injury
Recent frosts at the Cal Poly farm has brought frost injury in all its variety. According to the Compendium of Strawberry Diseases "frost injury is probably the most common non-pathogen related and non-insect-related disorder affecting strawberry flowers and fruit." Whenever temperatures dip to below freezing, expect to see a variety of deformed fruit and blackened … Continue reading Frost injury
JUST PUBLISHED: Strawberry host plant resistance to powdery mildew
The author (Michael Palmer) in a strawberry field in Santa Maria, CA. Photo by G. J. Holmes Michael Palmer finished his master's thesis last winter and his second paper just appeared in the journal Plant Health Progress (https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-12-20-0101-RS). This paper works out the methods for screening strawberry cultivars for their susceptibility to powdery mildew caused … Continue reading JUST PUBLISHED: Strawberry host plant resistance to powdery mildew
Let’s get started!
Previous graduate student Scott Cosseboom (Cal Poly AEPS 2015 & 2017) collecting an isolate of Botrytis cinerea from a rotting fruit in the field. Click on image to view Scott’s thesis. (Photo by G. J. Holmes) Welcome to the Cal Poly Strawberry Center BLOGThis idea started at our 2021 Field Day where almost 100 growers and PCAs … Continue reading Let’s get started!