"Monterey" STRAWBERRY cultivar performs well under walk-in tunnel in Colombia. La variedad de FRUTILLA (FRESA) "Monterey" se adapta bien al cultivo en macrotunel en Colombia

Photo source: http://www.larepublica.co

In Colombia, high-tunnel systems may be a viable alternative for increasing the yields of strawberry crops due to their ability to prevent fruit losses and plant damage caused during periods of high precipitation. This study aimed to compare the yield and its relationship with vegetative and reproductive components of Albion and Monterey strawberry cultivars, established in open-field and high-tunnel systems in Cajica (Colombia), at 2,562 m a.s.l. and 4°56´N, 74°00´W. ‘Monterey’, a cultivar with more vigor, presented a higher yield that ‘Albion’. The growth conditions in the high-tunnel system promotedrapid vegetative growth in the ‘Monterey’ plants, with an increase in yield and a decrease in losses. The ‘Albion’ cultivar plants in the high-tunnel system presented a decrease in fruit losses; however, these plants did not present differences in yield compared to plants in the open-filed system. Despite the benefits of a decrease in fruit losses due to rot seen in the high-tunnel system, this system had an increase in powdery mildew and calcium deficiency.
Source: Carlos Mario Grijalba, María Mercedes Pérez-Trujillo, Diana Ruiz and Ana María Ferrucho. 2015. Agronomía Colombiana 33:147-154.
http://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/agrocol

Guía para reconocimiento de plagas, organismos benéficos y enfermedades del cultivo de FRUTILLA (FRESA) - Guidelines of pests, beneficial organisms and diseases of the STRAWBERRY crop

El cultivo de frutilla es una de las principales actividades de pequeños productores de Jujuy. El mismo se caracteriza por alto costo de inversión, por ser altamente demandante de mano de obra, y por estar sujeto al ataque de plagas y enfermedades durante todo el ciclo productivo. En este contexto, el objetivo de esta guía es brindar a los pequeños productores una herramienta que les facilite la identificación, la prevención y el control de las plagas y enfermedades más frecuentes.

Con esta información se busca orientar al productor para que tome una decisión más acertada en cuanto a su accionar y para que vaya tomando conciencia de que es posible una producción sustentable, cuidando el ambiente, su salud, la de su familia y la de los consumidores.

Otro fin de esta guía es la materializar los temas abordados durante las capacitaciones y recorridas de campo en el marco del proyecto “Fortalecimiento ydesarrollo del sector frutillero en la provincia deJujuy mediante adopción de tecnologíaapropiada”, financiado por PRODERI y en el cual participan más de 70 pequeños productores de la provincia de Jujuy.

Como punto de partida, iniciamos esta guía remarcando que una condición fundamental en el cultivo de frutilla es utilizar plantas sanas y de tamaño adecuado.

DESCARGAR GRATIS de: http://inta.gob.ar/documentos/guia-practica-de-campo-para-el-reconocimiento-de-plagas-frecuentes-organismos-beneficos-y-enfermedades-habituales-del-cultivo-de-frutilla-en-el-noroeste-argentino/ 

China: A New STRAWBERRY Cultivar ‘Fumei 2’ - Una Nueva Variedad de FRUTILLA (FRESA) 'Fumei 2'

HUA Xiu-feng1，CHEN Xian1,*，ZHU Hai-sheng2，and CHEN Ai-hua3
(1Fuzhou Vegetable Institute，Fuzhou 350111，China；2Crops Research Institute，Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences，Fuzhou 350012，China；3Fujian Vocational College of Agricultural，Fuzhou 350007，China）

'Fumei 2' is a new strawberry cultivar which is derived from the cross between ‘Sagahonoka’as female parent and ‘Frandy’as male parent. Its conical fruits were red color，delicate in texture，fragrant in aroma，medium in fruit firmness. It contains soluble solids of  9.5%，the total sugar of 7.1%，the titratable acid of 0.47%，vitamin C of 0.719 mg·g-1. The average fruit weight is 20 g. It is resistant to powdery mildew. It is suitable for open cultivation and protected cultivation of Southern China.

Published in Acta Horticulturae Sinica.

Methyl Bromide and STRAWBERRIES .. Shock .. Horror .. Oh, Wait a Minute - Bromuro de metilo en FRESA (FRUTILLA) .... Shock .... Horror ... Oh, un momento por favor.

 There was an article on the ABC site this morning which gave us this alarming headline “Pesticide banned worldwide still used to grow 70pc of Australian strawberries”. Shocking! Except, well, there were a few teeny tiny but important details missing. Like the fact that the rest of the world is still using the “banned” pesticide too.    

Image source: http://www.news.uwa.edu.au

Methyl Bromide (the substance involved) has been withdrawn worldwide under the Montreal protocol as it is a potent greenhouse gas (not because of toxicity, as many people have assumed from the headlines). However, world wide, there are exemptions for the use of methyl bromide as a fumigant for quarantine and production purposes (QPS) and some special (critical use) exemptions, it’s not just us. In 2005 Australia, stopped the use of methyl bromide for all but the exempt QPS uses, and for a few uses for which there was no suitable alternative to methyl bromide.
In 2012 around 12,000 metric tonnes of methyl bromide were used around the world for various QPS and critical exemption purposes, Australia’s agricultural use was 32 tonnes at this time (Japan’s was 216 metric tonnes and the US 923 metric tonnes for comparison). Critical use exemptions, the ones that allow the strawberry farmers to fumigate their soil, must be applied for each year.
Like everyone else in the world, Australia developed plans to phase out the remaining methyl bromide use. Since 2005, when methyl bromide use in general was phased out, Australia has been replacing methyl bromide in the critical use exemption and (to a more limited extent) QPS categories with alternatives, dropping from 112 metric tonnes in 2005 to 32 metric tonnes in 2015.
Methyl bromide is an important pesticide fumigant, and is used to kill pathogens and pests in imported produce and some produce for export. Finding alternatives is not straight forward, for example, phosphine, one of the alternative fumigants, is highly flammable, so new handing procedures are needed to combat the risk of fire.
While reducing the amount of methyl bromide entering the atmosphere is important, the significant risk to the Australian biota and agricultural production from invasive pests and pathogens has to be weighted against the fact that human produced brominated compounds represent less than 0.03% of the total halogens released into the atmosphere, and that unlike CFC’s, which last in the atmosphere for decades, methyl bromide’s half life in the atmosphere is less than a year.
Given the relatively small impact of methyl bromide, and the continuing reduction of methyl bromide (see here for a comparison of the progress and the contribution of the US vs the rest of the world), Shock! Horror! headlines about Australia’s use for strawberries are unwarranted.
In the strawberry growing industry, methyl bromide is used to destroy pathogens and pests in the soil the strawberry runners are planted in. In Queensland and Tasmania, methyl bromide has been replaced. However, for the soils in the Victorian strawberry growing areas, the alternative fumigants aren’t as effective.
Other fumigants are being researched, but it takes time to find something that is reasonably safe, reasonably cheap and effective. One of the potential replacements, methyl iodide, has been withdrawn from the market, so the hunt is still on for a viable replacement. It may be that we have to grow our strawberries under soil-less conditions to stop disease and pest losses.
So, like all other countries, Australia has phased out methyl bromide, except for quarantine and other critical uses for which there is no effective alternative (again, just like other countries). Since 2005 we have systematically reduced the amount of methyl bromide for these uses, and are undertaking research to reduce the amount even further.
Oh, and in case you are worried that methyl bromide contaminates the strawberries, methyl bromide breaks down in the soil, and the strawberries that grow much later do not come into contact with it. There is no toxicity issue here at all.
Sources: http://theconversation.com/, www.freshplaza.com

FRESA. Incentivo para estudiar las plagas y enfermedades en suelos sin fumigar en California

More than $1 million in state and federal research grants are approved for the California Strawberry Commission to improve soil health. The CSC says the future sustainability for California strawberry farmers involves continued research to find non-chemical alternatives to fumigants. 

 

More than $1 million in state and federal research grants will go to the California Strawberry Commission (CSC) to improve soil health.

The research dollars will advance science on sustaining healthy soils to control plant diseases, and reduce the need for soil fumigation. The research will focus on experimental soil-borne disease management systems using biologically active soil treatments.

According to the CSC, California strawberry farmers are leaders in research to reduce pesticide use. Over the last six years, the commission has invested heavily in fumigant alternatives research, including soilless systems, steam, mustard seed meal, and anaerobic soil disinfestation.

“These recent grant awards will allow us to continue working with the top researchers in the world to find sustainable solutions to managing plant disease and pests in the soil without fumigation,” according to  Dan Legard, the CSC’s vice-president of research and grower education.
“We look forward to more robust research aimed at new ways to create healthy soil environments for strawberries.”

The CSC says future sustainability for California strawberry farmers involves continued research to find non-chemical alternatives to fumigants.
The CSC says strawberry farmers have been recognized globally for phasing out methyl bromide to help protect the Earth's ozone layer. The loss of methyl bromide has left farmers with only one remaining tool to clean the soil - chloropicrin.
Chloropicrin does not control all soil-borne diseases, the commission says. Instances of the macrophomina and fusarium diseases have increased in recent years.

The grants will help strawberry farmers find other soil cleaning alternatives.
The million-dollar in research grants come from two primary sources:
-  $298,472 from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to evaluate soil-borne disease management systems which use biologically active soil treatments in combination with reduced rates of fumigants.

The research aims to significantly reduce the amount of fumigants needed to treat soil diseases before planting, and improve the efficacy of biological approaches.

Rick Tomlinson, president of the California Strawberry Commission, says, “We are honored to be recognized for our pioneering research to reduce fumigant use with these significant grants to move our research to the next level,”

California produces more than 85 percent of all U.S.-grown strawberries.
The CSC is a state government agency which represents all California strawberry shippers, processors and farmers. With an emphasis on food safety education, commission activities focus on production and nutrition research, trade relations, public policy, marketing, and communications.

Source: www.calstrawberry.com

Found in:  http://westernfarmpress.com/