Strawberries are a great berry in the garden. Its medicinal properties have been known for several hundred years. Moreover, it is delicious and sweet. Children love it and adults do not mind trying it.
But even in well-groomed beds, garden strawberries are not immune from the appearance of diseases and pests. If you don't fight them, you won't be able to get a good harvest.
Strawberry diseases and effective treatment in autumn and spring
Everyone knows that the fight against diseases must be started before the first signs appear. You can't do without preventive measures. The sooner measures are taken, the higher the yield.
Fusarium and late blight on strawberries
Fusarium disease leads to wilting of leaves. Its first sign is necrosis at 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;
- the leaves become grayish;
- the edges of the leaf plate are twisted upward, forming a bowl;
- the root system dies off.
To prevent the occurrence of such dangerous diseases, it is very important to follow the cultivation technique and change the location of the garden every four years.
The fact is that the spores of pathogenic fungi accumulate in the soil and on the roots of strawberries. Only healthy material is chosen for laying a new bed. Also, before planting, it is necessary to treat the root system of plants with biological products. Bushes that show signs of damage are best 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 up in a boat;
- the color of the leaf plate changes, it turns purple;
- a white powdery bloom appears on the surface of leaves and berries;
- berries become smaller and deformed.
In addition, the disease does not allow the plant to pollinate normally, which reduces yield. Ripe fruits have an unpleasant taste and smell, more reminiscent of the smell of rot.
You must fight the disease 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, copper sulfate, Bordeaux liquid or preparations based on them are used.
Gray rot
Gray mold is a fungal disease that destroys the entire crop rather quickly. Signs of the disease:
- light brown, dense spots on fruits that grow rapidly;
- fluffy bloom on fruits;
- ovaries and stalks dry out;
- leaves are covered with brown or gray spots.
In addition, on the affected plant, strawberry fruits dry quickly and mummify, and the disease progresses actively on young bushes.
As a fight against gray rot, preventive spraying with Bordeaux mixture is used twice a season, before flowering and after harvest. It is also important to observe the crop rotation of the crop, mulch the soil with coniferous sawdust, and regularly weed the weeds.
Brown leaf spot
An insidious disease destroys an entire strawberry plantation in a short time. It is quite simple to define it:
- small brown spots appear on the surface of the leaf, which quickly form one large spot;
- gradually the leaves of the affected plant turn yellow and die off.
The fight against the disease begins in early spring, the plants are sprayed with copper preparations. After harvesting, the processing is repeated again.
White spot
Fungal disease is manifested by white clear spots on the leaves of the plant, the edge of the spot is dark in 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 take not only preventive spraying, but also regularly take care of the garden. Monitor the condition of the soil, weed out.
Experienced gardeners advise to cut off the entire aerial part of the plant after harvest, leaving only the "heart" of the bush. Old leaves are burned to kill bacteria and parasites. The soil in the garden bed is loosened and treated for diseases. After two weeks, the bushes are covered with healthy leaves, with which they leave for the winter. Carry out the procedure no later than August.
What pests are dangerous for garden strawberries and why?
Not only diseases, but also gluttonous pests that eat up the berries and leaves of the plant significantly reduce the harvest. 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 done.
Strawberry nematode
The strawberry nematode reproduces very quickly. To prevent this pest from settling on the site, be sure to use only healthy seedlings. Immediately before planting, a contrast shower is arranged for the plant, which kills the nematode larvae.
The bushes are dipped in a bowl of hot water, the temperature of which is at 45 degrees, and kept for ten minutes. After that, the seedlings are immediately cooled in ice water. Only then do they start planting plants. 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 fruits are small and ugly.
In addition, having dug 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 shrub treatment
The strawberry mite infects the leaves of the plant, and begins to harm from early spring, sucking the juice from young sprouts of strawberries.
Females of the pest calmly winter in the soil, in 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 bloom;
- berries become smaller, yield decreases.
Severely affected bushes are dug up and burned. At the first signs of the appearance of a pest, preparations with a sulfur content are used. As a preventive measure, you can spray strawberries with 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 no more than 50C. The mixture is infused for about 4 hours, then filtered and used as directed. A 10-liter bucket uses up to about 1 kg of leaves.
Tomato leaf infusion is prepared from dry shoots, which are harvested in the fall. One kilogram of tops is poured with hot water (10 liters) and infused 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 the garden strawberry are entangled in a thin web, slow down growth and gradually dry out. It is wielded by a spider mite. The pest sucks out the cell sap of the plant, which leads to death, the yield drops.
At the first signs of damage, the garden 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.
Aphid control 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 for combating aphids, garlic infusion is widely used. The heads are peeled and crushed. Pour the garlic with ice water (3 liters) and infuse the mixture for one week. Then 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 like to nibble on strawberries. Place a scarecrow or plastic bottles on the pegs in the garden. This will scare away annoying neighbors.
Remember, if time is lost, 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 treatment of strawberry bushes in the fall, remove the affected plants without regret.