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 STRAWBERRY DISEASES

 C. M1 Hlowatd
 Associate Professor (Plant Pathologist)


Objectives: To determine the cause and importance of new strawberry diseases.

Colletotrichum fruit rot: Round, dark spots which are firm and sunken. Very
severe in some fields during warm periods. This fungus also causes anthracnose
and wilt.


Dendrophoma fruit rot: Round, light
sunken. Small black fruiting bodies
in some fields during some periods.


pink or gray spots which are
often form in these lesions.
This fungus also causes leaf


soft and not
Very severe
blight.


Pestalotia fruit rot:
light tan central area
and a surrounding band
in commercial fields.


Lesions variable. The most typical lesion has a round,
which is slightly sunken below the original fruit surface
of soft tissue which is definitely sunken. Rarely serious


Alternaria fruit rot: Lesions round or irregular in shape and light green to
nearly black depending on the stage of development. Rarely serious in
commercial fields.

Fruit rot control: The only fungicides presently registered for use on straw-
berries which have a short enough required interval between application and
harvest for use under Florida's conditions are Captan, Benlate and Copper sulfate.
If regular spray intervals are maintained and good coverage is achieved, Captan
will usually give good control of all these fruit rots, but during periods of
severe disease incidence Benlate usually gives better control of the Colletotrichum
and Dendrophoma fruit rots. Copper sprays become toxic to the plants after
repeated applications and can not be used for long periods.