Strawberries are not grown on their personal plot, probably only lazy. This is a very healthy berry, tasty and also unpretentious. However, sometimes problems arise with this garden crop. The fact is that strawberries quite often undergo various kinds of diseases. So, so that there is no decrease in yield for this reason, it is advisable to process the bushes in the spring. In this case, depending on the situation, you can use both folk remedies and chemical preparations. Further in the article, we will consider how strawberries are processed in spring and what methods are best used for this.
Major diseases
Most often, strawberries and strawberries are affected:
- gray rot
- leaf spotting
- verticillus wilting.
A significant decrease in yield can also result from infection by eggs and larvae of various kinds of insects. Most often, the problems for the owners of strawberry plantings are:
- strawberry mite
- garden slug
- raspberry-strawberry weevil.
So, let's figure out what is the processing of strawberries in the spring from diseases and pests from the list above.
How to deal with gray rot
The disease is quite dangerous. In the dry year, up to 50% of the crop may be lost as a result of infection, and in the wet year, up to 80%. Its features include:
- the appearance of brown, rapidly growing spots on the berries,
- the appearance of a gray fluffy plaque with many spores.
Infected berries rot quickly. Of course, they are already completely unsuitable for food.
In order to avoid crop loss as a result of infection with gray rot, strawberries should be treated in the spring, at the beginning of growth, with a solution of iodine (10 ml per 10 l of water). For fidelity, the procedure is repeated during the budding period and again after 10 days.
If strawberries are already infected, for processing it is worth using a strong infusion of garlic (100 g of dried leaves in 10 liters of water). A very good result can also be achieved by spraying the plants with mustard infusion (50 g of powder per 10 l of warm water).
Sometimes processing of strawberries in the spring is carried out by summer residents also using chemical agents. This may be, for example, Fundazole (0.2%) or Euparen multi (0.1%).
After the crop is harvested, it is advisable to pour the soil on the bed with strawberries with a solution of ash (500 g per 10 liters of water).
Leaf spotting
This disease can cause yield loss of up to 15%. When infected, black small spots with a white dot in the middle appear on the leaves of strawberries. The defeat is often very large - up to 90% of the entire landing. They usually fight this disease with chemicals. You can use them for spring spraying for prevention. In both cases, it is easiest to use 1% Bordeaux fluid. Sometimes processing of wild strawberries in early spring in this case is carried out using copper oxychloride (0.4%).
Verticillus wilting
This is a very unpleasant disease, treatment for which does not exist. It affects the root neck of the plant, as a result of which the leaves begin to die. The bush, as it were, "settles", becomes smaller in height. In this case, no spring treatment will help. Strawberries can be saved from pests and most other diseases. When infected with verticillous wilting, the only way to get rid of the pest is to dig up diseased bushes and destroy them. A new planting is best done away, without using plants from the old garden. Usually the first signs of this unpleasant disease can be noticed already at the end of May.
Strawberry Mite Spraying
Damage to plants by this insect can lead to the loss of almost the entire crop - up to 80%. Mites, as well as their larvae suck out the juice from the leaves of wild strawberries, as a result of which the latter wrinkle, acquire a lighter shade and gradually die off.
In order to avoid infection of the planting with this insect, in the spring, immediately after the snow melts, the bed must be watered with hot water (65 degrees). After some time, the soil should be loosened. It is also advisable to remove all last year's plant residues.
In the event that the planting in the previous season was severely infected by the mite, spring strawberries are treated with Intavir (1 tablet per 10 liters) or Agrovertin (1 ml / l).
Ways to protect from slugs
These mollusks can damage a lot of berries. To combat this pest, it is useful to spray a mustard solution in spring or summer (100 g per 10 liters of water). Sometimes summer residents also use red pepper infusion. You can use pollination with tobacco dust or fluffy lime.
Processing spring garden strawberries from raspberry-strawberry weevil
Most often, strawberries are affected by these insects. Weevil appears on plants in early spring, affecting leaves, shoots and buds. As a result, plantation yields are significantly reduced. Early strawberry varieties are particularly affected by this pest. To prevent the disease in the spring, you can use deterrent spraying with a garlic solution (150 g of crushed teeth in 10 liters of water). It is also very good to apply a decoction of capsicum (1 kg of fruit per 10 l). It helps well against weevils and tansy infusion (1 kg per 5 l).
Used to get rid of this pest, including chemicals. For example, sometimes strawberries are sprayed with "Zeta" or "Intavir" (1 tablet per 10 liters). Do it in the spring. However, if there are a lot of weevils on plants, processing can be repeated even after harvesting. This will prevent pests from wintering in the garden.
So what to spray a bed with?
Thus, we have found out what pests and diseases most often affect strawberries. Preventive spraying of this culture is carried out depending on the specific situation. If in the previous year the plants were sick with gray rot or were infected with weevil, spring strawberries are treated with infusion of garlic. If black spots appear on the leaves, you can spray the beds with a weak solution of Bordeaux fluid. The slugs are scared off with a solution of mustard, and Intavir is used against the mite.
The treatment of strawberries in spring with copper sulfate (2-5 g per 10 liters) helps very well from many pests and diseases. Well, of course, in order to avoid the defeat of strawberries by any bacterial disease or insects, the rules of agricultural technology and the cultivation of this crop should be observed. For example, it is highly discouraged to place strawberries next to raspberries. The mite infects the flowers of both berries. You can not plant this culture in damp, poorly ventilated places. Otherwise, infection with gray rot or slugs is unlikely to be avoided.
The Importance of Proper Care
This berry is usually fed with mullein (in the first year after planting), and in all subsequent seasons - with nettle infusion. Overflowing strawberries is undesirable. Especially in the spring. Otherwise, it may lose color. But it is also impossible to allow strong drying of the soil under the plants. On well-fertilized soil with sufficient watering and in the absence of weeds, the bushes will grow strong and resistant to any disease.
The best predecessors of strawberries are potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplant. You can avoid many problems associated with infection by planting garlic between strawberry bushes and rubbing its leaves from time to time. In this case, you may never have to perform such an operation as treating strawberries in the spring from diseases and pests.