As an update to my previous posts on this new disease of strawberry, there is now an additional nursery implicated in the spread of Neopestalotiopsis. This nursery, located in Canada, received plants from the one North Carolina nursery that is the original source of this pathogen. This Canada nursery has also been identified as a source of spread through transplants this year, and they are evidently having difficulty in cleaning up their operation relative this pathogen. For next year and moving forward, Georgia strawberry producers need to make sure that nursery sources do not have any connection to this pathogen. Once it is in a field, there is no evidence to date that we can get rid of it, as it will reside in old residue or weeds in and around the field. The best thing to do is to keep it far away from your strawberry operation.

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