The California Strawberry Commission is hosting its 3rd Annual Production Research Meeting! When: Friday, April 24th, 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.Where: Santa Maria Inn: 801 S Broadway, Santa MariaThis full-day program will feature the latest research and updates from leading scientists, university partners, and CSC program leaders. Topics will include plant pathology, entomology, automation, soil … Continue reading California Strawberry Commission 3rd Annual Production Research Meeting on April 24th

We are excited to announce that Strawberry Field Day 2026 will be held on Thursday, July 23rd at 7:30 a.m. Each year, this event brings together more than 600 strawberry growers, researchers, and industry partners for a day of research updates in entomology and pathology and new automation technology, along with opportunities for high-impact networking. … Continue reading Strawberry Field Day 2026: A decade of growth and innovation

Every year, the main research field at the Strawberry Center is divided in half: fumigated and non-fumigated. Within the first few months after transplanting, I always notice how vigorous the plants on the fumigated side are compared to the non-fumigated side. Could fumigation also be influencing nutrient availability, perhaps even creating a fertilizer effect?  In … Continue reading What happens to soil nitrogen after fumigation?

This is the fourth and final post in the strawberry anatomy blog series. Root systems are complex, and they can quietly determine how well your crop performs. Understanding how they function can help you make better decisions about irrigation, fertility, fumigation, and runner management. Figure 1. Bareroot strawberry transplant with labeled structures. (photo by G. … Continue reading Strawberry anatomy: part 4 – roots & crowns

Compared to the flower and the fruit, the anatomy of the strawberry leaf and stems seems like it would be much simpler. But it's not. To begin with, strawberry leaves are trifoliate, meaning that there are three leaflets for each leaf (Fig. 1). Leaves are connected to the crown by a stem called the petiole. … Continue reading Strawberry anatomy: part 3 – leaves and stems

We continue this 4-part series on strawberry anatomy by now focusing on the mature fruit. See also, part 1 - the flower. All the structures of the flower are present on the mature fruit, they just look a little different. The calyx is slightly expanded and sits at the "top" or "stem end" of the … Continue reading Strawberry anatomy: part 2 – the fruit

This is going to be a four-part series on strawberry anatomy. We'll start with the flower (part 1), move to fruit (part 2) and leaves (part 3) and finish on the crown and root (part 4). Knowing a plant's anatomy is important because it helps us understand how it grows and develops and allows us … Continue reading Strawberry anatomy: part 1 – the flower

The Strawberry Center launched a new summer internship program this year, giving students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in both applied research and commercial berry production through partnerships within the industry. The program's first cohort was made up of three current Center student assistants: Shaelyn Spencer, Jorge Millan Rodriguez and Emiliano Gomez. All are … Continue reading Launch of summer internships with industry partners

1753367400  days  hours  minutes  secondsuntilFIELD DAY Join more than 600 strawberry growers, researchers and industry representatives for this year's Strawberry Center Field Day. Participants will rotate through five stations, hearing from students and staff about the latest research taking place at the Strawberry Center. The event is approved by CDPR and CCA for 3 hours … Continue reading Strawberry Center Field Day, July 24th, 7:30 AM

Each year in the Spring academic quarter we invite a series of speakers to Cal Poly to deliver a lecture on a current issue in the California strawberry industry. We just finished this year's series and thought you might like to see the lineup. All lectures are posted to our YouTube channel. Each one is … Continue reading Current Issues in the Strawberry Industry: 2025 lectures now available

CSC-Annual-Production-Research-Meeting-Agenda-04.25.25-1 (1)Download WHEN: Friday, April 25, 2025; 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM WHERE: Santa Maria Fairpark Pavillion; 937 S. Thornburg St., Santa Maria, CA CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: 3.5 DPR CEUs hours; 4.5 CCA CEUs hours This is a key strawberry research meeting that brings together the best and brightest in strawberry science. Topics include an … Continue reading Strawberry Commission Hosts Regional Strawberry Grower Meeting in Santa Maria, Friday April 25, 2025

In early Spring, I often observe a problem on fruit that is very dramatic and consistent. It happens almost every year to some degree and is often more severe in certain cultivars/varieties. The incidence of the problem ranges from less than 1% to as high as 15-20%. Fruit will split down the middle along a … Continue reading What causes fruit splitting?

Royce S. Bringhurst (Fig. 1) helmed the UC Davis strawberry breeding program from 1953 to 1989, leaving an indelible mark on California agriculture. His biography, written by his son John R. Bringhurst, was published in 2018 and is available for purchase here. This 559-page book, supplemented by 165 pages of detailed notes, references, and an … Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: Yielding Fruit – The Life and Times of Royce S. Bringhurst

Each year in the Spring academic quarter we invite a series of speakers to Cal Poly to deliver a lecture on a current issue in the California strawberry industry. We just finished this year's series and thought you might like to see the lineup. Most of the lectures are posted to our YouTube channel. Each … Continue reading Current Issues in the Strawberry Industry: 2024 lectures now available

Boom Sprayer equipment should be calibrated at least once per production season in order to ensure that the correct/desired amount of spray material is being applied. There are six steps to sprayer calibration and regular maintenance: Preparations Maintenance Pressure uniformity Nozzle output (Fig. 1) Actual application rate (Fig. 2) Adustments Detailed calibration instructions (video) can … Continue reading Boom Sprayer Calibration

The American Society for Horticultural Science has a podcast called “Plants, People, Science”. Take a listen to Episode 7 (The Sweet and the Not-so-Sweet of the U.S. Strawberry Industry) where Gerald Holmes (Strawberry Center, Director) discusses many aspects of the California strawberry industry, including robotics, labor, organic production, diseases, fumigation and more. FYI: Gerald's interview … Continue reading RECENT ASHS PODCAST EPISODE ON CALIFORNIA STRAWBERRIES

Only six weeks away! Join more than 400 strawberry growers, researchers and industry representatives for this year’s Strawberry Center Field Day. Participants will rotate through stations, hearing from Cal Poly students and staff about the latest research taking place at the Strawberry Center. Topics include the newest automation technology, predatory mites, soil-borne pathogens of strawberry … Continue reading Cal Poly Strawberry Center’s Field Day is Aug. 3

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?

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

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?

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!