One of the most common and at the same time the most burdensome diseases attacking strawberries is gray mold, which is caused by Botrytis Cinerea fungus. It can quickly develop and destroy our crops. Her attack, plants are exposed especially with favorable conditions, including frequent rainfall. Check how to deal with this problem, as well as what preventive measures to take.
The presence of gray mold, we can observe, among others, on the flowers of the plant. Then the infected flowers and buds have brown spots, in addition they can darken and even completely die. In addition, the fungus of flowers often gets into the peduncles.
Unfortunately, however, the symptoms on flowers are usually not so visible. On the infected fruit, we can easily see extensive brown, soft spots, and with high humidity we will notice a fluffy gray-white myceliumas well as a characteristic raid. In the event that the disease is immature, green, they usually deformed, then brown and dry completely.
In subsequent phases of the developing gray mold, On the infected surface, small, black, hard forms of spore fungus appear. These signs show that our strawberries have been attacked by gray mold. You should react immediately because the contact of infected fruit with other parts of the plant, It can cause a rapid spread of pathogen.
Gray mold most often develops under certain conditions. It usually happens when the plant is weakened and the environment is favorable. So it means that ours They are most exposed to her when we are dealing with:
- frequent rainfall,
- high humidity,
- retention of water on leaves and fruits,
- dense plantings that limit the breathability,
- left with plant residues on the plantation.
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Combating gray mold is very difficult, so it’s worth focusing on prevention, thanks to which we will prevent it from appearing. For this purpose, it is worth taking several actions that will reduce the risk of paralysis. Among other things:
Use fertilizers or biostimulators, which contain, among others Silicon, lime, potassium, titanium, boron and zinc, because these ingredients strengthen the cell walls of plants, which increases their resistance to the penetration of pathogens.
- Choose strawberry varieties that have high gray mold resistance.
- Ventilate plastic tunnels and greenhouses.
- Avoid sprinkling plant leaves.
- Remove leaves remaining after strawberry harvest.
- Perform spraying plants during flowering, using fungicides.
In turn, fighting gray mold, We can use fungicides, natural preparations or biological preparations. In addition, it is worth removing infected parts of the plants to avoid the spread of the disease.
