Settled nematodes on strawberries can be seen only when the plant begins to mutate greatly. The bush, infected with parasites, has twisted, wrinkled leaves in pale yellow or brown spots, large petioles. They can also affect plant roots.
Nematodes are small roundworms. Due to its microscopic size (the length of an adult worm is not more than 2 mm), parasites almost always go unnoticed. Worms feed on plant cells.
Strawberries become infected with nematodes mainly through newly acquired, new seedlings. Therefore, when buying young bushes of plants on the market, do not hesitate to inspect each seedling for parasites. Newly acquired cuttings can be quarantined for some time if you doubt their healthy condition.
Nematodes on strawberries live in the plants themselves. They develop using the same bush. Worms survive the cold well, being in dry leaves. If you have a nematode on a strawberry on your site, do not hope for a harsh winter. Crackling frosts are not afraid of these parasites.
But there are no effective ways to deal with such worms yet. In case of illness, infected bushes are dug up and then burned. Gardeners recommend destroying plants within a radius of 1 meter with an affected crop.
A nematode on a strawberry (photo attached) lives until the bush dies. For prevention, some gardeners advise steaming the land before planting new plants. The fact is that nematodes are afraid of high temperatures.
In general, all prevention can be conditionally reduced to two actions. First of all, it is necessary to prevent the entry of parasites to your summer cottage from external sources. For this, as mentioned earlier, you should be very careful about newly acquired seedlings and quarantine them for a while.
Well, and if it so happened that the nematodes still settled on the strawberries, or were they present before, but the consequences of their actions became noticeable only now? The second preventive action should be aimed at preventing the spread of worms among other crops, strawberries in particular.
In specialized stores there are poisons for the destruction of nematodes. If you still decide to use this method, be sure to consider the fact that the effect of the poison is a temporary phenomenon. Poisons cannot destroy worm-laid eggs. Over time, the larvae hatch and the process continues.
With root damage by nematodes, you can try to get rid of parasites using heat treatment. Dig up the infected plant. Then the roots are freed from the ground, the whole system is immersed in a container of water (water temperature about 55 degrees). But again, the eggs of the worms are quite resistant to such a process. To destroy them, the plant should be kept in warm water for more than 20 minutes, and there is no absolute guarantee that all the larvae will die.
Some gardeners claim that nematodes on strawberries are afraid of marigolds and marigold. With prolonged spraying of the culture with tincture made from these plants, dissolved in water, you can get rid of worms. Processing should be carried out 2 times a day for 3 weeks.