Publication 360, Fruit Production Recommendations:
Management Practices to Reduce Pesticide Use in Strawberries

Pub 360, Fruit Production Recommendations > Chapter 5: Berry Crops > Management Practices to Reduce Pesticide Use in Strawberries

Table of Contents

1. Management Practices to Reduce Pesticide Use in Strawberries
   • Between plantings
   • Before planting
   • Harvesting years, late April to early May
   • Harvesting year, mid to late May
   • Preharvest to harvest
   • Renovation
2. Other Information on Strawberries
   • Strawberry Nutrition
   • Strawberry Calendar (Fruiting Years)
   • Strawberry Calendar (Non-Bearing)
   • Notes on Insects and Diseases on Strawberries
   • Table 5-19. Products Used on Strawberries
   • Table 5-20. Activity of Fungicides on Strawberry Diseases
   • Table 5-21. Miticides Registered on Strawberries
   • Table 5-22. Activity of Insecticides on Strawberry Pests
   • Table 5-23. Strawberry Variety Disease Ratings
3. Pub 360 Chapter 5 - Strawberry Calendar - (PDF 364 kB)
4. Related Links
   
   

Between plantings

• Pests:
  • White grubs
  • Wireworms
    
• Management Practice: Crop rotation

Avoid planting strawberries after preferred hosts such as corn, grasses, cereal species and potato. Never plant after pasture or hay crops. In the pre-plant year, consider cultivated row crops such as snap beans, white beans, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower or cover crops such as oil seed radish. These crops are less likely to attract or support white grubs or wireworms.

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• Pests:
  • Root lesion nemetode
  • White grubs
  • Root weevils
  • Wireworms
  • Annual and perennial weeds
  • Two-spotted spider mite
    
• Management Practice: Summer fallowing

Cultivate to 10 cm depth, frequently enough to kill young weeds and discourage weed growth. Avoid this practice on sloping land prone to erosion.

Sow oats or spring wheat in September as a cover crop to minimize soil erosion by wind and water. Do not use cereal rye, because this encourages nematodes.

For more details on preplant weed control, consult OMAFRA Publication 75, Guide to Weed Control. See Site Preparation and Special Methods of Weed Control sections.

Before planting

• Pests:
  • Verticillium
  • Red stele
  • Leather rot
  • Black root rot

• Management Practice:
  • Site selection
  • Crop rotation

Select a site with good soil drainage. Avoid heavy, poorly drained soils. Avoid sites with a history of red stele and Verticillium.

Avoid growing susceptible crops before planting strawberries. Susceptible crops that favour build-up of verticillium in the soil include potato, tomato, peppers, eggplant and alfalfa.

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• Pests:
  • Botrytis fruit rot
  • Leaf scorch
  • Leaf spot
  • Leaf blight

• Management Practice: Site selection

Select a planting site with good air drainage. Expose plants to direct sunlight and plant rows parallel to the direction of the prevailing winds to promote fast drying of foliage and fruit.

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• Pests:
  • Root weevil
  • Cyclamen mite
• Management Practice: Isolation

Isolate new plantings from older infested plantings to provide a physical barrier to reduce land migration of these pests.

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• Pests:
  • Red stele
  • Verticillium

• Management Practice: Cultivar selection

Choose varieties that have some resistance to the red stele fungus Phytophthora fragariae and verticillium. See Table 5-21. Strawberry Variety Disease Ratings, for more information. Use only plants that have been grown under the guidelines of an accredited plant propagation program.

Harvesting years, late April to early May

• Pests:
  • Plant bugs
  • Spittle bug
  • Two-spotted spider mite
  • Botrytis fruit rot
  • Leather rot

• Management Practice: Weed control

Broadleaf weeds provide alternate hosts and encourage the build-up of plant bugs and two-spotted spider mites. Grassy fencerows or volunteer grass in the planting provide alternate hosts for build up
of spittlebugs. Weeds keep relative humidity high and prolong leaf wetness, which encourages fruit rots.

Harvesting year, mid to late May

• Pest: Leather rot
• Management Practice: Straw mulch

Apply straw mulch between the rows, thick enough to prevent soil from splashing onto berries.

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• Pests:
  • Botrytis fruit rot
  • Leather rot
  • Black root rot

• Management Practice: Fertilization

Avoid excessive fertilization that can encourage too much foliar growth, creating a dense, humid canopy. Succulent growth resulting from abundant nitrogen is more susceptible to disease and mites.

Preharvest to harvest

• Pests:
  • Botrytis fruit rot
  • Leather rot
  • Black root rot
  • Verticillium
  • Red stele

• Management Practice: Irrigation scheduling

Irrigate for short periods to allow foliage and fruit to dry out before nightfall. Do not apply too much water at one time. Avoid creating puddles.

Renovation

• Pests:
  • Two-spotted spider mite
  • Powdery mildew

• Management Practice: Mowing

Mow off strawberry leaves to eliminate the food source for these pests and reduce the population.

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• Pests:
  • Botrytis fruit rot
  • Leather rot

• Management Practice: Narrowing rows

Narrow the width of matted row to 30 cm to decrease plant density and encourage airflow and quick drying of the crop canopy. Incorporate plant crop residues into the soil and rototill to destroy the main source of Botrytis. If runnering is too vigorous, narrow the rows again in October using a coulter.

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• Pest: Black root rot

• Management Practice: Subsoiling

Subsoiling in late July or August reduces compaction and improves soil drainage.

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Related Links

• Berries in Ontario
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• Pesticide Application and Safety
• Pesticide Companies and Agents
• Search the PMRA website
• Ontario Minor Use Program
• OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
• OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control: Berry Crops