Friday, April 18, 2008

Strawberry Book

Integrated Pest Management for Strawberries
Publication 3351 - 142 pages - $30.00 (Currently out of stock)
List of contents How to order

This is the most complete guide now available for strawberry production and pest management. This manual is intended primarily for growers and pest control professionals, but home gardeners also will find the book useful because a special chapter addresses home garden strawberry production.

Latest Information More than 60 University of California researchers and Cooperative Extension specialists contributed to the information in this manual. Integrated Pest Management for Strawberries contains the latest information on managing pests and growing strawberries.

Critical Topics

The manual covers such critical topics as:

plant structure and development
characteristics of strawberry cultivars
production of certified planting stock
handling bare-root transplants
using polyethylene mulch
soil fumigation
fertilization
soil and tissue sampling
irrigation scheduling
salinity management
scheduling monitoring activities
resistance to commonly used pesticides
important pest problems in different areas
pest problems and cultural practices in home garden strawberries
Extraordinary Photographs and IllustrationsHundreds of extraordinary photographs and illustrations show common and uncommon pest problems. The manual contains more than 300 excellent color photographs to help you identify, monitor, and manage more than 140 different pest problems, including insects, mites, diseases, nematodes, disorders, nutrient deficiencies, weeds, and vertebrate pests. The bloom stages of each fruit--apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, and prunes--are illustrated with color photographs. Exceptional line drawings and tables complement the photographs and cover such topics as:
susceptibility of major rootstocks and varieties to a range of pests
pollination
fertilizer recommendations
the importance of dormant and delayed dormant treatments
supplies and forms for pest monitoring
tree and fruit structure and development
Outstanding Color PhotographsMore than 150 outstanding color photographs, 36 black-and-white photos, and 60 line drawings and tables help identify some 100 different pest problems in strawberries, including insects, mites, diseases, weeds, nematodes, and vertebrates, as well as the common natural enemies of insects and mites.
Classic Reference Manual
"... should become a classic reference manual in strawberries an example of what a truly outstanding IPM manual should look like." — Craig Chandler, University of Florida
IPM for Strawberries

List of Contents

Integrated Pest Management for Strawberries
Strawberry Production in CaliforniaStrawberry Nurseries
Strawberry Growth and Development
Growth RequirementsDevelopmentThe CrownThe Root SystemRunners and Daughter Plant FormationFlowers and Fruit (Day Length)Chilling and Dormancy Planting Systems Winter Planting Summer Planting
Managing Pests in Strawberries
Pest IdentificationField Monitoring (Checking Potential Problems Before Planting Monitoring During the Season Soil and Water Sampling Weather Keeping Records) Control Action GuidelinesManagement Methods (Biological Control Certified Planting Material: Strawberry Certification Program Cultivar Selection Cultural Practices: Field Selection, Sanitation, Crop Rotation, Soil Solarization, Hot Water Treatments, Planting, Plant Establishment, Pruning, Polyethylene Mulch, Irrigation, Salinity Management, Fertilization, Harvesting and Handling Pesticides: Soil Fumigation, Pesticide Resistance, Pest Resurgence and Secondary Outbreaks, Crop Injury, Hazards to Humans, Hazards to Wildlife)
Insects and Mites
General Predators (Bigeyed Bugs Minute Pirate Bugs Lacewings Dusty Wings Damsel Bugs Cecidomyiid Fly Convergent Lady Beetle Spiders) Monitoring (Sampling)Twospotted Spider Mite (Description and Biology Damage Management: Cultural Practices, Biological Control, Monitoring and Treatment Thresholds, Pesticides) Lygus Bug (Description and Biology Damage Management: Cover Crops and Weed Hosts, Biological Control, Monitoring and Treatment Thresholds, Vacuum Removal)Other Plant Bugs Cyclamen Mites Aphids Root Weevils Strawberry Rootworm White Grubs Corn Earworm Other Caterpillar Pests (Cutworms Armyworms Leaf-Rolling Caterpillars: Garden Tortrix, Strawberry Leafroller, Omnivorous Leaftier Cabbage Looper Saltmarsh Caterpillar) Whiteflies European Earwig Western Flower Thrips Garden Symphylan Ground MealybugFruit Flies
Diseases
Field Monitoring and Diagnosis Prevention and Management (Certified Transplants Cultural Practices and Sanitation Soil Solarization Pesticides)Fruit Diseases (Gray Mold or Botrytis Rot Rhizopus Rot or Leak Mucor Fruit Rot Other Fruit Diseases: Powdery Mildew, Leather Rot, Anthracnose, Black Seed Disease, Phomopsis Fruit Rot, Tan-Brown Rot) Foliar Diseases (Common Leaf Spot Powdery Mildew Virus and Mycoplasma Diseases: Symptoms and Seasonal Development: Mottle, Crinkle, Mild Yellow Edge, Vein Banding, Necrotic Shock, Lethal Decline, Green Petal Management Angular Leaf Spot Phomopsis Leaf Blight Leaf Blotch Hainesta Leaf Spot and Fruit Rot) Root and Crown Diseases (Anthracnose Phytophthora Crown Rot Red Stele Root Rot Verticillium Wilt Black Root Rot Charcoal Rot) Abiotic Disorders (Nutrient Deficiencies: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, Boron, Iron Low Temperature Injury Salt Toxicity Pesticide lnjury Fruit Coloration Problems: Albino Fruit, Green Tip, White Shoulder)
Weeds
Management Methods (Field Selection and Sanitation Cultivation and Hand Weeding Crop Rotation Soil Solarization Polyethylene Mulch Herbicides) Monitoring and Identification of Weed Species Major Weed Species in Strawberries (Perennial Weeds Annual Broadleaf Weeds Annual Grasses)
Nematodes
Foliar Nematode Root-Knot Nematodes Nematode Management (Sampling for Nematodes Field Selection and Sanitation Crop Rotation Soil Fumigation Soil Solarization Certified Transplants Hot Water Treatments)
Vertebrates
Birds (House Finch Robin Goldfinches Cedar Waxwing Starling Long-billed Curlew Management Guidelines Noisemakers: Visual Repellents, Protective Netting, Trapping) California Ground Squirrel (Management Guidelines: Baits, Fumigation,Trapping) Meadow MicePocket Gophers Moles Mule Deer
Managing Strawberry Pests in the Home Garden
Choosing a Good Location Preparing the Soil Selecting Plants Planting Watering Fertilizing Mulching Pruning Rotating Plantings Treating the Soil Pest Problems (Monitoring Biological Control Cultural Controls Using Pesticides) Slugs and Snails Sowbugs Spider Mites Cyclamen Mites Earwigs Root Weevils Aphids Caterpillar Pests Lygus Bugs Gray Mold (Botrytis Rot and Other Fruit Decays) Phytophthora Root and Crown Rot Verticillium Wilt Powdery Mildew Leaf Spot Diseases Viruses Weeds Birds and Other Wildlife References
Glossary

How to Order

Integrated Pest Management for StrawberriesPublication 3351 - Published 1994Price $30.00 - 142 pages - ISBN 1-879906-08-2 (Currently out of stock)

This publication is available from the UC ANR Communication Services catalog. It is also available by mail; by telephone; at the ANR sales office in Oakland; and at many of the UC County Cooperative Extension offices. For more information, see "How to Order Publications."

Cultivation

Strawberry varieties vary remarkably in size, color, flavor, shape, degree of fertility, season of ripening, liability to disease and constitution of plant. Some vary in foliage, and some vary materially in the relative development of their sexual organs. In most cases the flowers appear hermaphroditic in structure, but function as either male or female.

For purposes of commercial production, plants are propagated from runners and generally distributed as either bare root plants or plugs. Cultivation follows one of two models, annual plasticulture or a perennial system of matted rows or mounds. A small amount of strawberries are also produced in greenhouses during the off season.

The bulk of modern commercial production uses the plasticulture system. In this method, raised beds are formed each year and covered with black plastic, which prevents weed growth and erosion, under which is run irrigation tubing. Plants, usually obtained from northern nurseries, are planted through holes punched in this covering. Runners are removed from the plants as they appear, to encourage the plants to put most of their energy into fruit development. At the end of the harvest season, the plastic is removed and the plants are plowed into the ground. Because strawberry plants more than a year or two old begin to decline in productivity and fruit quality, this system of replacing the plants each year allows for improved yields and more dense plantings. However, because it requires a longer growing season to allow for establishment of the plants each year, and because of the increased costs in terms of forming and covering the mounds and purchasing plants each year, it is not always practical in all areas. The other major method is to maintain the same plants from year to year. The runners of established plants should be allowed to root in the soil adjoining the plants, which should, therefore, be kept light and fine, or layered into small pots as for forcing. As soon as a few leaves are produced on each the secondary runners should be stopped. When the plants have become well-rooted they should at once be planted out. They do best in a rather strong loam, and should be kept tolerably moist. The ground should be trenched 50-100 cm deep, and supplied with plenty of manure, a good proportion of which should lie just below the roots, 25-30 cm from the surface. The plants may be put in on an average about 50-60 cm apart.

The plantation should be renewed every second or third year, or less frequently if kept free of runners, if the old leaves are cut away after the fruit has been gathered, and if a good top-dressing of rotten dung or leaf mold is applied. A top-dressing of loam is beneficial if applied before the plants begin to grow in spring, but after that period they should not be disturbed during the summer either at root or at top. If the plants produce a large number of flower-scapes, each should, if fine large fruit is desired, have them reduced to about four of the strongest. The lowest blossoms on the scape will be found to produce the largest, earliest and best fruits. The fruit should not be gathered until it is quite ripe, and then, if possible, it should be quite dry, but not heated by the sun. Those intended for preserving are best taken without the stalk and the calyx.

A mulching of straw manure put between the rows in spring serves to keep the ground moist and the fruit clean, as well as to afford nourishment to the plants. Unless required, the runners are cut off early, in order to promote the swelling of the fruit. The plants are watered during dry weather after the fruit is set, and occasionally until it begins to colour. As soon as the fruit season is over, the runners are again removed, and the ground hoed and raked.


Fragaria × ananassa 'Chandler' , a short day commercial variety grown in California.Strawberries are often grouped according to their flowering habit. Traditionally, this has consisted of a division between "June-bearing" strawberries, which bear their fruit in the early summer and "Ever-bearing" strawberries, which often bear several crops of fruit throughout the season. More recently, research has shown that strawberries actually occur in three basic flowering habits: short day, long day, and day neutral. These refer to the day length sensitivity of the plant and the type of photoperiod which induces flower formation. Day neutral cultivars produce flowers regardless of the photoperiod. Most commercial strawberries are either short day or day neutral.

While rarely if ever done commercially, strawberries may also be propagated by seed, and a few seed propagated cultivars have been developed for home use. Seeds are acquired commercially or saved from fruit ripened early in the summer. They may at once be sown, either in a sheltered border outdoors or in pots, or better in March under glass, when they will produce fruits in June of the same year. The soil should be rich and light, and the seeds very slightly covered by sifting over them some leaf-mould or old decomposed cow dung. When the plants appear and have made five or six leaves, they are transplanted to where they are to remain for bearing. The seeds sown in pots may be helped on by gentle heat, and when the plants are large enough they are pricked out in fine rich soil, and in June transferred to the open ground for bearing.

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