Strawberries and Caneberries

While it's pretty common for Californians to set aside their complaints about rainy weather because we need the water, the flip side for the Central Coast strawberry industry is ruined fruit and plant problems. I've been seeing a number of fields with the problem of Photo 1 below.

Just put out a study this morning with my colleagues from PSI screening a number of biological fungicides. These materials have been accumulating interest on the part of both growers and buyers as they seem to fit a more "natural" approach to food production attractive to consumers.

I've recently had a number of calls concerning an increasing amount of leaf blotch on strawberry. This makes sense, since we've had continuing rains and the subsequent lengthy periods of free moisture coupled with the warming weather ideal for propogation of this pathogen.

Here's a photo submitted by reader Ted Swartzbaugh down in Ventura county of something you don't see too often. Powdery mildew in raspberry which has advanced to the fruit, and if you look close you can even see evidence of the disease on the petiole.

The first ever UCCE Cost and Return study for primocane blackberries is now finished and available to all. https://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/en/current/commodity/blackberries/ I'm really proud to have been a part of this effort.