The main diseases and pests of garden strawberries

» Strawberries

Strawberries are an excellent berry in the garden. It has been known for several hundred years. Plus, it's delicious and sweet. Children love it and adults love it.

But even in well-groomed beds, garden strawberries are not immune from the appearance of diseases and pests. If you do not fight them, then you will not be able to harvest a good harvest.

Everyone knows that the fight against diseases must begin before the first signs appear. Preventive measures are indispensable. The sooner action is taken, the higher the yield.

Fusarium and late blight on strawberries

Fusarium causes leaf wilt. Its first sign is necrosis along the edges of the leaf plate, after which the leaf gradually changes color to brown and completely fades. You can recognize late blight on a plant by the following signs:

bushes noticeably lag behind in development;
the center of the bush turns red;
leaves become grayish;
the edges of the sheet plate twist upward, forming a bowl;
the root system dies.

To prevent the occurrence of such dangerous diseases, it is very important to observe the cultivation technique and change the location of the beds every four years.

The fact is that spores of pathogenic fungi accumulate in the soil and on the roots of strawberries. For laying a new bed, only healthy material is chosen. Also, before planting, it is necessary to treat the root system of plants with biological products. Bushes that show signs of damage should be destroyed immediately.

powdery mildew

Powdery mildew significantly reduces yields, affecting all parts of the plant. You can determine its appearance on strawberries by the following signs:

leaves are curled in a boat;
the color of the leaf plate changes, it turns purple;
a white powdery coating appears on the surface of leaves and berries;
berries shrink and deform.

In addition, the disease prevents the plant from pollinating normally, which reduces the yield. Ripened fruits have an unpleasant taste and smell, more reminiscent of the smell of rot.

The disease must be dealt with immediately. Preventive spraying is carried out several times a season. The first time the plant is treated in early spring, then at the beginning of budding and after harvesting.

The bed is treated with preparations with copper, a soap solution is added to them as an adhesive. For spraying use copper sulfate, Bordeaux liquid or preparations based on them.

Gray rot

Gray rot is a fungal disease that destroys the entire crop quite quickly. Signs of the disease:

light brown dense spots on fruits that grow rapidly;
fluffy coating on fruits;
ovaries and stalks dry out;
leaves are covered with brown or gray spots.

In addition, strawberry fruits quickly dry and mummify on the affected plant, and the disease actively progresses on young bushes.

As a fight against gray rot, preventive spraying with a Bordeaux mixture is used twice a season, before flowering and after harvesting. It is also important to observe crop rotation, mulch the soil with coniferous sawdust, and regularly weed weeds.

An insidious disease in a short time destroys an entire strawberry plantation. It is quite easy to define it:

small brown spots appear on the leaf surface, which quickly form one large spot;
gradually the leaves of the affected plant turn yellow and die.

The fight against the disease begins in early spring, the plants are sprayed with copper preparations. After harvesting, the treatment is repeated again.

white spotting

The fungal disease is manifested by clear white spots on the leaves of the plant, the edge of the spot has a dark color. The dots do not merge into a single spot, but the affected leaves gradually die off.

The fight against the causative agent of the disease is carried out every year, they undertake not only preventive spraying, but also regularly care for the garden. Monitor the condition of the soil, weed out the weeds.

What pests are dangerous for garden strawberries and why?

Not only diseases, but also voracious pests that eat the berries and leaves of the plant significantly reduce the yield. Bushes noticeably lag behind in growth, flowering is delayed. Pest control is carried out throughout the growing season.

The first preventive treatment occurs in early spring, after which three or four more sprays are made.

Strawberry nematode reproduces very quickly. To prevent this pest from settling on the site, be sure to use only healthy seedlings. Immediately before planting, the plant is given a contrast shower that kills the nematode larvae.

The bushes are lowered into a basin of hot water, the temperature of which is at the level of 45 degrees, and they are kept for ten minutes. After that, the seedlings are immediately cooled in ice water. Only then do they start planting. The planting hole is pre-filled with lime.

If the pest has already settled on the site, then the affected bushes are dug up and burned. It is easy to identify diseased bushes:

young bushes are deformed, become brittle;
shoots and internodes thicken;
flowering is practically absent;
the born fruits are small and ugly.

In addition, having dug up a bush, you can see small worms in its roots, the length of which does not exceed 1 mm. This is the pest.

Strawberry mite and bush treatment

The strawberry mite infects the leaves of the plant, and begins to harm from early spring, sucking the juice from young strawberry sprouts.

The females of the pest calmly winter in the soil, in the spring they come to the surface and settle at the base of the bush. Signs of damage to strawberries:

young leaves of the plant are deformed, become terry at the edges;
gradually the leaf plate wrinkles;
the plant is covered with an oily coating;
berries shrink, yield decreases.

Severely affected bushes are dug up and burned. At the first sign of the appearance of a pest, preparations containing sulfur are used. As a preventive measure, you can spray strawberries with an infusion of dandelion and tomato tops.

Dandelion infusion is prepared from fresh raw materials. The leaves are crushed and poured with hot water, the temperature of which is not more than 50C. The mixture is infused for about 4 hours, then filtered and used for its intended purpose. A 10-liter bucket consumes up to about 1 kg of leaves.

An infusion of tomato tops is prepared from dry shoots that have been harvested since autumn. One kilogram of tops is poured with hot water (10 l) and insisted for 4 hours. After that, the solution is boiled for two hours, cooled and filtered. The working solution is diluted 1:2 and grated laundry soap is added.

How to treat a berry from a spider mite?

Often in the garden they notice that the leaves of strawberries are entangled in a thin cobweb, slow down growth and gradually dry out. This is a spider mite operating. The pest sucks out the cell sap of the plant, which leads to death, the yield drops.

At the first sign of damage, the bed is immediately sprayed with an infusion of wormwood and tobacco. It is prepared in the same way as dandelion infusion. If the moment is missed, then the bed can be treated with karbofos or Fitoverm.

Fighting aphids on strawberries

The pest is visible to the naked eye. The leaves of the plant curl, gradually dry out, flowering is delayed, the fruits are deformed.

Of the folk methods to combat aphids, garlic infusion is widely used. The heads are peeled and crushed. Garlic is poured with ice water (3 liters) and the mixture is infused for one week. After that, the solution is filtered and used for its intended purpose.

wasps

Wasps also plague the strawberry plantation by eating sweet berries. To get rid of them, special sweet baits are placed on the territory.

Birds

Some birds are not averse to pecking at strawberries. Place a scarecrow or plastic bottles on pegs in the garden. This will scare off annoying neighbors.

Remember, if time is lost, then it is very difficult to defeat the disease and pests, treatment in most cases may be ineffective. Inspect the beds in a timely manner, remove weeds, carry out preventive treatments for strawberry bushes in the fall, remove affected plants without regret.