Alabama Extension will hold a virtual webinar on weed management in strawberry, peach and blueberry production systems on Tuesday, May 4 at 11 a.m. (EST). Alabama Extension specialist Steve Li will discuss weed management on blueberry, peach and strawberry farms.
This meeting will be held via zoom. It is free but those interested must pre-register. Click here to pre-register: https://www.aces.edu/go/regionalfruitmeetings.
According to The South Carolina Grower, it is important for strawberry producers to tissue sample their crop now. This ensures an adequate supply of nutrients are available for the crop, which maximizes yield and quality of the fruit.
Justin Ballew, Clemson Commercial Horticulture Agent, said the best method in tissue sampling is randomly select plants. These should be selected across the whole field.
It’s important to pick off the youngest and fully expanded leaves. Those leaves usually have a more gloss look than others.
Ballew stresses that farmers need to ensure they leave plenty of petioles on those leaves.
Once all the leaves are collected, it is important to separate the petiole from the leaflet. The petioles are used to sample the nitrogen content. The leaflets are used in sampling for other nutrients.
Tissue sample regularly through the end of harvest.
It won’t be long before strawberries will be ready for harvest in South Georgia. University of Georgia Extension encourages producers to scout for spider mites, especially as strawberries begin to ripen and bloom across the state.
The two-spotted spider mites are typically light yellow in appearance with a spot on either side of their abdomen. Their piercing-sucking mouthparts can cause damage while feeding on the plant cells. Scouting is important since feeding usually occurs on the underside of the leaf.
If left undetected, infestations can cause the leaves to become brittle with a bronze tint.
Early detection is important since this is the time that strawberries are most vulnerable. According to the UGA Extension Strawberry News blog, strawberries can tolerate higher numbers of spider mites as the season progresses. The threshold now for strawberries if five per leaflet. The threshold moves up to 20 further into the season.
The blog states, “There are several miticides on the market that work well on two-spotted spider mites. It is important to understand that some miticides are only effective on certain life stages. Using a product that is effective on eggs and juveniles will do no good if only adults are present.”
Complete coverage is critical since mites feed on the undersides of leaves. Rates of 50 and 100 gallons of water per acre are common for controlling mites.
UGA Extension advises farmers who need assistance or recommendations to call their local county agent.
The International Trade Committee’s (ITC) decision regarding blueberry imports was shocking to Florida’s blueberry producers. It was no less surprising to the state’s strawberry farmers who have their own ITC investigation under way.
“Our jaws dropped. We know how bad the blueberry deal is and they said they were 5-0 voting against it,” said Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale Farms in Plant City, Florida. “I scratched my head to that and was like, ‘Well, I don’t think strawberries even have a chance.’”
The ITC deemed in February that imports of fresh, chilled or frozen blueberries are not a serious injury to the domestic industry. It goes against what members of the American Blueberry Growers Alliance testified about during the virtual hearing with the ITC in January.
“We were in a board meeting when we got the news. If they didn’t get one person to rule in their favor, we ain’t going to get none. To me, blueberries were in a worse position than we were,” Parke said. “The problem is, too, if it was regional; they’re taking a nationwide perspective, but if they would have done a southeast perspective from the Carolinas down to Florida, I don’t see how they could vote against it. It should have been unanimous.”
In early December, the ITC instituted two monitoring factfinding investigations into U.S. imports of fresh or chilled strawberries. This was made in a request from the U.S. Trade Representative.
According to a presentation by UF’s Zhengfei Guan, Florida strawberry production was approximately 220 million pounds in 2000, while strawberry imports from Mexico totaled approximately 70 million pounds. In 2019, Florida production maxed out at 200 million pounds, compared to Mexico’s approximate 400 million.
How can producers like Parke compete when everything is stacked against them?
“Mexico has really affected our industry since NAFTA. The first couple of years NAFTA wasn’t so bad. People were still figuring out they could go down there and still invest their money and produce berries a whole lot cheaper,” Parke said. “The third or fourth year of NAFTA, we used to have maybe 200 growers here in Plant City. Between then and now we’re down to probably 50 growers. It’s just because a lot of people went belly up and couldn’t compete.
“Here in Florida, my guys average $100 a day picking berries. In Mexico, they pay them $5.20 to pick every day. Two-thirds of my cost is harvesting. How can I compete with that?”
Parke said the market is not great right now. Along with Mexico’s strawberry imports, Florida is picking a pile, and California’s picking a pile. The market is reflecting the increased supply.
“Mexico has really taken a toll on the American farmer,” Parke said.
Citrus Greening has devastated Florida’s citrus industry. The state’s strawberry producers are concerned about their future with Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot disease.
It may still be in its infancy, but Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot is taking its toll on the Florida strawberry industry. One Florida producer is concerned about its impact moving forward.
“I would call it the ‘Greening of strawberries,’” said Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale Farms in Plant City, Florida. “There’s no cure for it, as we know. This is the third season that we know what it is, and we still have more questions than answers.”
Parke said volume has been way off this year, maybe two-thirds of what last year’s crop produced. It varies from farmer to farmer. While the weather played a role in decreased production, so has Neopestalotiopsis.
“The whole industry was impacted by it, I think,” Parke said. “Just on one pick, I probably threw 400 flats to the acre on the ground. They were just totally ate up with it.
“I would say for the next three years, it’s going to take a hit on our industry.”
The disease has quickly spiraled out of control in three years. It was first discovered during the 2018-19 season in five farms and was attributed to one nursery source in North Carolina. More than 20 farms experienced the disease during the 2019-20 season, and the disease was attributed to two nursery sources early in the season in North Carolina and Canada.
It was discovered this year in fields that had it the prior season.
Neopestalotiopsis causes leaf spots on strawberry plants. It develops quickly and produces spores on the leaves. It can cause severe leaf spotting and fruit rot under favorable weather conditions.
Unfortunately, it can be hard to detect because of other similar leaf spot diseases that growers must contend with like leaf scorch, leaf blotch and Cercospora leaf spot.
One of Florida’s most challenging strawberry seasons is nearing the homestretch of its 2020-21 season. Between insects, Neopestalotiopsis disease and rising imports from Mexico, strawberry farmers have faced an uphill battle all season, says Dustin Grooms, strawberry producer with Fancy Farms in Plant City, Florida.
“Things have been challenging this year. It’s been a tough year. The volume was off for pretty much, and it’s still off, all year. We’ve been dealing with chili thrips that seem to be giving us a fit. They’ll actually bronze the berry and take away from that red look. It becomes unmarketable,” Grooms said. “They’ll eat the plant down to nothing. We’ve been fighting them all year. We’ve got spider mites that this year have been relentless and have thrown everything and the book at them. They just keep on coming.”
The main problem has been Neopestalotiopsis. The disease was first discovered during the 2018-19 season and has increased in instances and intensity ever since. It develops quickly, produces spores on the leaves and causes leaf spots on strawberry plants. It can cause severe leaf spotting and fruit rot under favorable weather conditions.
“This year we’ve seen it right away. It’s been a thorn in our side all season. I think everybody has tried everything they can think of and other people’s thought of, nothing seems to combat it very well,” Grooms said. “It appears that it can actually live in the crown of the plant and if we transplant next year, it may pick it up. That’s where we’re at right now, thinking about next year of what we can do to mitigate that problem.”
Grooms said the disease flares up with rain and hot weather, a consistent combination in Florida. One weather event of rain and extreme heat contributed to the disease exploding overnight.
“It’s just been one problem after another. It seems that we can’t get out of one problem before we’re in another one. We’ve just been dealing with all this off and on all year. None of it has ever went away,” said Grooms, who estimates that about 40% of his 125 acres have been impacted by the disease.
Florida strawberry producers are nearing an end to this season. Grooms added that how long it lasts will depend on how long the chain stores continue buying.
“We always like to say we’d like to go to Easter. On my personal farm, I couldn’t tell you the last time we went to Easter was. It’s been probably a decade ago,” Grooms said. “We would love to get to the end of the month. The fruit’s here. It’s just, what’s going to happen? We don’t know.”
Easter is April 4 this year.
When the light goes on, it’s lights out for a ruinous strawberry pathogen.
Just imagine this: Pulling an ultraviolet lamp behind a tractor out into your farm in the middle of the night, pointing the UV light at the strawberries and zapping powdery mildew right out of the leaves and fruit.
That’s the idea behind new research led by UF/IFAS plant pathology Professor Natalia Peres. A new study she led shows that UV light kills powdery mildew, a disease that can significantly damage strawberries. “UV treatments applied once or twice weekly were as effective as the best available fungicides applied on similar schedules for control of strawberry powdery mildew,” Peres said. “It’s not a one-time fluke.”
The UV equipment has to be custom-built, but the cost is much lower than that of sprayer equipment, and there is no additional cost other than labor after the unit is built, she said. Since UV applications have to be done at night, Peres and her team have been collaborating with Saga Robotics from Norway on a UV robot-like system that could reduce the labor cost.
Benefits of the UV light system come as good news to strawberry farmers. UF/IFAS economic research shows strawberries are about a $300 million-per-year industry in Florida.
Click here for more information.
Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot has emerged as a significant disease of Florida strawberry production. Instances have increased over the last three years, to the point this year the disease was discovered in fields that had it the prior season.
But what can producers do to manage this destructive disease? Natalia Peres, a Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, offered a few suggestions during the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center Field Day, to growers who are struggling with the disease year after year.
“Avoid harvesting and moving equipment through the fields when the plants are wet. That’s one of the ways the pathogen can move in the fields. I realize it is much easier to do early in the season when you don’t have a lot of fruit than once we get into the peak, which is coming soon,” Peres said.
Peres also advises producers to rotate fungicides that are found to be effective during periods of favorable conditions. Farmers also need to start planning strategies for crop inoculum termination and removal.
“I do suspect that a lot of the inoculum is surviving in the crop residue that we are incorporating in our fields,” Peres said.
Producers also have a better chance to manage the disease if they start with clean transplants.
“We do need to continue to work with our nurseries so the ones that don’t have it can stay clean,” Peres said.
The disease was first discovered during the 2018-19 season in five farms and was attributed to one nursery source in North Carolina. More than 20 farms experienced the disease during the 2019-20 season, and the disease was attributed to two nursery sources early in the season in North Carolina and Canada. More than 20 farms had the disease this year.
Neopestalotiopsis causes leaf spots on strawberry plants. It develops quickly and produces spores on the leaves. It can cause severe leaf spotting and fruit rot under favorable weather conditions.
Unfortunately, it can be hard to detect because of other similar leaf spot diseases that growers must contend with like leaf scorch, leaf blotch and Cercospora leaf spot.
It is strawberry season in Florida. Odds are any strawberries eaten right now taste oh-so-sweet. Those strawberries consumers see at the grocery store should be shipped and stocked at the right temperature, says a University of Florida (UF) scientist; should being the operative word.
To ensure the fruit is at peak form, you’re not supposed to break what’s referred to as the “cold chain,” says Jeff Brecht, a UF/IFAS horticultural sciences professor and Extension specialist.
The cold chain refers to the food supply chain — from farms to supermarkets — and applies to products that need to be refrigerated. Trucks transport strawberries around the state and across the country, and ensure the product remain cold, Brecht said.
“We tell strawberry shippers and handlers not to break the cold chain because if you allow strawberries to warm up, there’s no practical way to cool them back down,” Brecht said.
When strawberries warm, they lose some of their sugars, vitamins and antioxidants and can bruise and decay more easily, scientists say.
Some grocery stores prefer to display room-temperature strawberries, but those warmer temperatures will often result in strawberries that don’t last as long in consumers’ homes, Brecht said.
For more information, see the UF/IFAS website.
The new Florida Medallion strawberry requires a different management strategy than the other varieties currently on the market. But the rewards are potentially great for Florida growers who choose to produce the latest variety release from the University of Florida/IFAS.
Vance Whitaker, strawberry breeder at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, has a couple of recommendations based on the compact nature of the plant.
“I suggest targeting planting dates earlier in the planting period from Oct. 1 to 10. Because of the compact plant, you can plant this variety fairly early without overgrowing the plant,” Whitaker said. “This variety (also) needs more nitrogen fertilization and maybe more fertilization for all nutrients than Brilliance and Sensation.”
Whitaker also suggests that growers target Medallion to fields that have heavier or wetter soils. Because the plant needs to be pushed a little bit more, that maybe a little bit more difficult to achieve on dry, non-organic soils.
Due to Medallion’s susceptibility to Charcoal Rot disease, growers need to avoid planting in fields with Macophomina infestations.
Stock availability of Medallion is limited. Whitaker estimates between 150 and 200 fruiting acres in 2021-22. But that should increase up to 2,000 acres in 2022-23.
“Florida Medallion is a variety with really great fruit quality and flavor. It is a compact plant that has fewer runners in the fruiting field but is also going to need to be managed a little bit differently than the other varieties,” Whitaker said.