Lex
Full Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011 8:51 am
Location: Massachusetts

controlling grey mold on strawberries?

Has anyone else has their strawberries get infected by grey mold (botrytis)? it's not yet hurting my yield, but I want to make sure it doesn't take over.I'm not desperate enough to use fungicides though :) It's nasty stuff -- grey fuzz encases whole strawberries and if you bump them, they release clouds of spores.

JONA878
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1014
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 2:14 am
Location: SUSSEX

Cultural method of keeping this disease at bay Lex, is to maintain as good an air flow through the plants as possible. The spores need a damp, warm and humid atmosphere to germinate. so plants that are overcrowded and still wet for long hours.......never leave watering until late in the day when the plants don't have time to dry out....are more prone to succumb.
Also remove any sign of infected fruit before the spores can be released to make the problem worse.

By the way....all the chemicals that are available only protect unaffected plant material by laying down a layer that stops the spores germinating. They do not act on the areas already infected. So if you decide to use chemical control...it has to be before the stable door has been left open too long.

Lex
Full Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011 8:51 am
Location: Massachusetts

Thanks, that's useful info! The worst affected rows are definitely overcrowded, and we've had a ton of rain here -- I haven't watered at all. Should I thin the plants out? Now or after the strawberries are done growing?

JONA878
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1014
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 2:14 am
Location: SUSSEX

Hi Lex.
It would pay you to thin out those plants now. It's essential that you get good air movement around them and also they would then have more room to expand themselves.
If you can get some straw under the trusses this would help keep the disease at bay by isolating the fruit from the ground and keeping a better air flow through the developing fruit.



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