Dear all,

As many (or all of you) know: several plant suppliers that usually ship strawberry tips to plug plant producers in NC, SC and VA has had a large outbreak of Neopestalotiopsis (Neo-P) and therefore cannot deliver tips. Other tip suppliers might still deliver, but there is the possibility of an infection as well.

What to do if my plug plant order was cancelled?

Please consult with your local agent or with the specialists. Please remember that there are several strawberry specialists in the state. Most of us are available via email, phone or text message. This is a fast evolving situation, and best advise currently if given on a case by case basis.

IMPORTANT: If you decide to plant, it is crucial to start out with plants that show no disease symptoms. It is also important to have sufficient spray equipment and deploy an aggressive spray schedule to be able to control this disease. You need to be able to spray from the first day of planting!

To learn more about the spray program, please read this NOTE from Dr. Phil Brannen.

If you decide to use Plug plants and tips: It is important to only use plant material that is symptomless. Most nurseries might be already sold out, but some might still take orders. You find a plant supplier list here. However, please also consult with your original plant supplier. They will be also doing their best to find other tip sources as well.

Bare-root with leaves & Cut-offs: If you switch to bare-root planting material, green bare roots need to be watered in (14d of watering every day). That requires a large water reservoir as well as soil that drains reasonably well. Cut-offs require considerable less overhead watering, and might be less prone to disease spread, due less overheard water usage.

Late planting: Some of you might experience this year a late planting due to delayed plant delivery. If that is the case, after the initial rooting phase, please use row-covers (ideally before Thanksgiving) to increase crown development.

What to do if my plants show disease symptoms?

(Picture by Bill Cline)

Disease Symptoms are described by Bill Cline in this NOTE. Disease symptoms can however vary quite a bit. It is definitely advisable to let professional services (PDIC) identify the cause for your symptoms.

We are also still learning about disease management. But there are a few things that we do know:

• Disease symptoms show typically more on plants that are more stressed (e.g. nutrition, other pathogens, irrigation etc.).
• There is a high correlation between rain events and disease spread after. It seems that Neo-P is primarily spread through rain splash.
• We know that a few fungicides (Thiram, Switch, Rhyme/Tilt/Inspire) can control Neo-P to a certain percentage.
• It is crucial to deploy an aggressive spray program and stay on top of it. That means early sprays, sprays before and after rain (but in dry conditions!!).

To learn more about the spray program, please read this NOTE from Dr. Phil Brannen.

It is not advisable to plant plug plants or bare-roots that show disease symptoms. We do not recommend to do that. Here are steps that you can take before and after planting:

1. do not plant unhealthy plants and destroy the ones not planted;
2. limit field operations, such as harvesting and spraying, when plants are wet;
3. sanitize hands, shoes, and clothing when moving out of infected fields;
4. clean and disinfect equipment when moving out of infected fields;
5. remove and destroy symptomatic plants (including crowns and roots) during production to reduce inoculum and disease spread;

Are there tolerant or resistant cultivars?

There are no true resistant cultivars. However, it seems that there are cultivars that are more susceptible than others. Most of the data we have on this are either anecdotal or insufficient to really make a scientific claim. So the following information is only based on observations made by me and others in the industry, and should be seen as such.

It seems that ‘Monterey’, ‘Rocco’ and ‘Fronteras’ typically show less disease symptoms. ‘Ruby June’, ‘Albion’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Camarosa’, ‘Sweet Charlie’, ‘Camino Real’ all seem to be more affected by the disease. Same with ‘Brilliance’ and ‘Sensation’. I want to stress out that this is based on observations of growers, extension and nursery men I spoke to in the past days. There is no research trial that sufficiently evaluated the impact of Neo-P on disease development in different cultivars.

Bill and I are working on getting that going this year, and we hope to know more in a few months.

What else?

This is important: I am very proud to see that most people I talked to understand that everyone sits in the same boat. I think that is the right way to approach this problem. Despite the high emotions, the losses and the frustration this causes, it is important in a situation like this to remember that grower AND nursery both are hurting. Everyone I talked to is collaborative and wants to help to mitigate this situation to best of their abilities. Let’s keep that spirit going, so we can find a path to a good production season despite all the problems.

More Resources

Disease and Pest Management:

• Southern Region IPM Guide
• MyIPM App

General Production and Cultivars:

• 2024 Strawberry Production Guide

If there are new developments, we will keep you updated.

Mark