strawberry crop diseases and pests and their effective control

Crown Rot (Cylindrocladium Floridanum)

Symptoms:

o  It can effects the roots which may turn black and rot.

o  Fungi are spread by infected runners, water or farm machinery.

o  Crown rot development is favored by warm, wet, conditions and waterlogged soil.

Control:

o  Improve soil drainage.

o  Avoid planting in known infected areas.

o  Apply soil fumigants before planting.

o  Avoid over watering.

o  Soil fumigation with ethelene bromide @ 1.05 tones per hectares.

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Leaf Scorch (Diplocarpon earliana)

Symptoms:

o  It is the most common leaf disease in leaves of strawberry appearing as small dark-purple spots up to one-fourth of an inch in diameter on upper leaf surfaces.

o   If the spots become numerous, the entire leaf dries up and dies.

o   Similar spots may appear on leaf petioles and runners.

Control:

o  Avoid overhead irrigation.

o  Remove and burn older infected leaves.

o  Practice crop rotation.

o  Use protective sprays.

o  3-4 treatments with Bordeaux mixture (1: 1.5: 100).

o  Anilazine 50w at 1.5 kg/acre in 100 gallons of water, sprayed 5 times between mid November to mid January gives good control. Click

Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera macularis)

Symptoms:

o  Powdery mildew is considered a moderate disease that can affect fruit, leaves and flowers.

o  This disease produces white patches of web-like growth.

o  Immature fruit may fall to ripen, become hard, crack and turn a reddish color with  raised seeds.

Control:

o  Remove and destroy trash at the end of the season

o  Plant runner from accredated runner nurseries.

o  Apply protective sprays.

o  Application of  Revous @ 240ml/acre is applied.for more

Leaf Blight (Xanthomonas arboricola)

Symptoms:

o  Leaf Blight effects the mature leaves.

o  Also cause soft rot on ripe fruit.

o  Large round spots develop on leaves with three distinct color zones.

o  Spots form a V shaped area that extends to the edges.

Control:

o  Avoid overhead irrigation.

o  Remove and burn older infected leaves.

o  Practice crop rotation.

o  Use protective sprays.

o  Application of with Copper oxychloride 0.25% is effective for the control.

Black spot

Symptoms:

o  This disease mostly effect fruit, but also affect runners, stalks and crown

o  This disease produce a sunken dark spot on fruit.

o  This disease spread from infected plants.

Control:

o  Plant runners from accredated runner nurseries.

o  Apply protective fungicides.

o  Cool fruit after harvest.

o  Antracol @ 500gm/acre.

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