tocoadog
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 11:08 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM Zone 7(B)

Strawberry Leaf Tips Browning

Hi all - my first post.

I was wondering if someone had any thoughts on why my first-year strawberry plant leaves were browning around the edges, then drying out, then dying.

I have attached the following pictures. Hopefully I did that right...please accept my apology if I did not.

I have 16 plants, and the browning is on many of them. The back two rows do not get as much sun as the other rows and they do not have the browning - so my first thought was leaf scorch. I've done an internet search including this site and didn't find anything. I might have overlooked though.

So...some basic info -> I live in Alb, NM. The strawberry bed is mostly homemade compost with some pine needles and perlite [not entirely sure why I added the perlite, but...]. The bed has been seasoned with an acid-loving plant fertilizer "Peace of Mind 6-4-4". Also, I'll throw in some coffee grounds for added nitrogen. I have not had the soil tested. Since the water here in Albuquerque is generally alkaline, I'll let the water sit out for a day or so to heat up before watering. I typically only water 2 to 3 times a week and it's a small amount.

Anyway, that's all I've got. I would really appreciate the help. My wife loves strawberries and if I could get this fruit growing for next year, she'd love it very much.

Tocoadog

[url]https://s972.photobucket.com/albums/ae201/tocoadog/[/url]

User avatar
Darceyoh
Full Member
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 7:21 pm
Location: Olympic Peninsula, WA

Could be Leaf Scorch. But what I'm wondering is if it's all the leaves on all the plants or the outer, older leaves? If so, if it is the outer, older leaves, AND you have new growth in the middle, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But if it's all leaves on all the plants... that stumps me and maybe someone else will have the answer.

The Helpful Gardener
Mod
Posts: 7491
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
Location: Colchester, CT

Could just be water...

Leaves brown from tips as they go dry, and even here in soggy ol CT you see strawberries mulched to keep the soil moist (they are so shallow rooted). The final piece in that puzzle is the shaded plants not getting hit; if it was a fungal issue those would be first, not skipped over... add that to "I typically only water 2 to 3 times a week and it's a small amount.", and my verdict makes perfect sense; almost everyone answers their own questions somewhere in the post... :wink:


Some mulch and some more H20, and you should be fine...

HG

kbrown1337
Full Member
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:35 pm

The strawberry plants that I transplanted about a week ago keep turning brown. The tips of the leaves turn brown and crispy first, and then slowly the entire leaf turns brown and it dies. I thought maybe it was lack of water but I've been watering them every day to keep them moist but it's still happening. Any ideas?

Picture: https://imgur.com/rnujdmT

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Make sure when you transplant that you do not bury the crown. Now that it is getting hotter, I have to move my strawberry baskets to where they get some shelter from the midday sun. The ones in the ground get mulched with dry grass or straw. Put some slug bait under the straw or the snails will go after them.

Redskinette82
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 12:59 am

I'm having the same exact problem as you and I know it's definitely not water related or anything else that they suggested. I've been looking everywhere and I haven't been able to find anything about it. :cry:

Redskinette82
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 12:59 am

I'm thinking it's verticillium wilt based on the description. Verticillium Wilt
A root and crown disease, verticillium wilt (Verticillium albo-atrum) usually appears in association with heat and light. Accordingly, it often affects plants in late spring as the weather heats up and sunlight is longer and harsher. Damage is often the worst in the plant’s first year, and manifests itself in browning along the edges and between the veins of the leaf. Make sure you do not let strawberries dry out completely, and that you do not plant new berry plants in soil previously contaminated by the disease. You can also buy disease-resistant varieties.

JONA
Greener Thumb
Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

I'm going for scorch damage.
Strawberries require quite high amounts of water and if the leaf area is losing water faster through transpiration than the root area can replace it, then desiccation starts on the leaf margins starting with the older leaves.
It's a good idea when planting new plants to remove a good deal of the vegitation to allow the roots to get established well. The plants will rapidly make up the losses.
Verticillium would be inducing wilt as well as browning and you do not mention any of your plants actually wilting.

ButterflyLady29
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1030
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:12 pm
Location: central Ohio

Are the crowns buried? The crown needs to be just above the soil level. Have any of you with this issue poked your finger down into the soil to see how deep the moisture goes? Sometimes the surface looks moist but the soil a few inches down is dry. Strawberries do better when mulched. Mulch regulates soil moisture, eliminates weed competition, and adds organic material to the area as it decomposes.



Return to “All Other Fruit”