Strawberry News

The following link should give you excellent, up-to-date information on selection of fungicides for management of strawberry Botrytis and anthracnose fruit rots.  If you observe Botrytis, this fungus can be tested for resistance development at Clemson University.  If you observe anthracnose, this fungus can be tested for resistance at the…
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Shane Curry (Appling County Extension Agent) sent a photo of spider mites (see attached) on strawberry, and the numbers are tremendous.  Strawberry producers should be scouting for mites at this time, since the conditions have been warm enough for the mite population to explode in some areas, despite significant rainfall. …
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By now most of us should be well into our early fertility regime on plasticulture berries.  Beginning with about a 1/2 pound per acre per day (3.5 lbs. of N per week) to get the crop started.  As we move further into March we should gradually increase this rate to…
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It doesn’t seem like it but we will begin our fertilizer programs on strawberries very soon, especially south Georgia growers.  There are many nutrients that are important in strawberry production, like nitrogen, potassium and boron.  Nitrogen and potassium are added prior to planting and throughout the growing season.  Boron is…
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It is going to be cold over the next 10 days but not cold enough for me to waste time with row covers.
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Row Covers are great tools for protecting flowers and fruit from freezing temperatures.  If you plan to use them be sure to scout for insects and diseases prior to and after applying them.
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We confirmed anthracnose on strawberry fruit a couple of days ago in a northern Georgia location.  The recent warm, moist conditions have been obviously acceptable for anthracnose development, and with rain splash, anthracnose can rapidly infect strawberries throughout a planting.  Though it has been dry in some parts of the…
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It seems that more growers than usual came up short this planting season.  We have tried to find plants when asked but it looks like supplies are tight and there is not much available from growers in Georgia.  The North Carolina Growers Association has a listing of growers that have…
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The 2017 Georgia Strawberry Growers Association will host it’s annual meeting on the 8th of August in Macon Georgia at the Georgia Farm Bureau Building.  It should be a good meeting with several speakers from North Carolina State, bringing information that will help you grow your 2018 crop. This is…
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Dr. Barclay Poling, Former Professor and Extension Specialist, NC State University, always has some good information and advice for growers concerning frost/freeze events in strawberries.  See his latest update and check out the local forecast for your area here. https://strawberries.ces.ncsu.edu/2017/03/30-day-ag-weather-outlook-md-va-tn-nc-sc-mon-morning-march-13-2017/ Both freezing temperatures and freeze protection with row covers or irrigation…
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