Although strawberries have long been grown successfully in Maine, they are not particularly hardy plants. However, because of the low growth habit of the plants, and their tendency to grow in protected areas near wood lines in the wild, they are often covered with leaves and snow during the coldest parts of the winter, which […]
Read more
RENOVATION AND WEED MANAGEMENT ISSUE Get Your Strawberry Beds Ready for Next Year and Manage Pests in Day-Neutral Strawberries The harvest season is coming to a close with very hot, humid weather ripening up the few late berries remaining. Overall, the crop was fair to good, in spite of some very cold winter temperatures and […]
Read more
HARVEST BEGINS IN SOUTHERN MAINE Prolonged Wet Weather Continues to Make Diseases a Concern Situation: Continued cool, wet weather has slowed strawberry development, but some fruit is being harvested from southern beds grown on black plastic mulch and under rowcovers. However, late varieties are still in bloom in northern matted row plantings. Insect counts have […]
Read more
SPIDER MITE POPULATIONS HIGHER IN SOME FIELDS Tarnished Plant Bug and Clippers Still at Very Low Levels Situation: Insect pests remain at very low levels this week, but high mite populations have become more widespread around the state. Foliar diseases also remain at low levels, but this may change with anticipated wetter weather late this […]
Read more
TWO SPOTTED SPIDER MITES REACH DAMAGING LEVELS Very Low Numbers of Tarnished Plant Bug and Clippers Situation: While visiting strawberry fields around the state this week, I was impressed with how well growers had protected strawberry flowers from the hard frost event last week. Most of the damage I saw was actually from an unexpected […]
Read more
CHALLENGING FROST SEASON THREATENS CROP Insect Pest Situation Very Quiet, Disease Pressure Increasing With Irrigation Events Situation: A frost event this week hit many strawberry fields just as they were coming into bloom, which is the stage at which they are most sensitive to cold temperatures. Fortunately, there was plenty of warning about the event, […]
Read more
Frost Protection Tips For Strawberries A significant frost/freeze event is being predicted for Wednesday night-Thursday morning. This has the potential to injure and kill susceptible strawberry flowers and buds that are now present in most strawberry fields. Growers should be ready to protect their plants with irrigation and/or row covers. Check your pump, pipes and sprinkler heads to be […]
Read more
2023 STRAWBERRY PEST MANAGEMENT SEASON BEGINS Vegetable and Berry Growers Twilight Meeting at Stevenson’s Farm, Wayne, June 6, 5:30 p.m. Situation: Strawberry development this spring started off near normal, but recent hot weather has pushed blossom and emergence slightly ahead of normal. Fortunately, most fields were still under mulch when we had a warm spell […]
Read more
Strawberry IPM Newsletter No. 6 – July 11, 2022 RENOVATION AND WEED MANAGEMENT ISSUE Get Your Strawberry Beds Ready for Next Year Manage Pests in Day-Neutral Strawberries The harvest season is coming to a rapid close as hot, very dry June and July weather condensed the picking season. The dry weather is stressful for the […]
Read more
Strawberry IPM Newsletter No. 5 – June 17, 2022 HARVEST BEGINS IN SOUTHERN MAINE Gray Mold, Anthracnose Fruit Rot Concerns in Ripening Fields Situation: Harvest of early varieties is underway in southern Maine. Cooler weather predicted for next week may slow the maturity of later varieties, which could help extend the season, but hopefully won’t […]
Read more