Plasticulture strawberry harvest has kicked off in southern Indiana. These plants went through a winter of temperature ups and downs and survived the unexpected frosts in April. Finally, it is harvest time! This article’s title is a question from a grower. The straightforward explanation is that plants received more sunlight and warmed up faster on…Read more about Why do the East Side of My Strawberry Rows Have Way More Ripe Ones than the West Side?[Read More]
Strawberry
Frost/freeze damage is one of the major risks of growing strawberries in Indiana. During the morning of April 24, a widespread freeze event caused damage to several crops, including strawberries. Strawberries in southern Indiana, particularly on plasticulture, have entered full bloom. Without protection, freeze damage was extensive in some fields. A case study was described…Read more about Strawberry Crop Update[Read More]
We are happy to announce that Purdue Extension is presenting its annual Fruit and Vegetable Field Day on July 20, 2023, at the Throckmorton/Meigs Horticulture Farm, Lafayette, IN. Registration is now open. To register your spot, visit https://cvent.me/5zevYD The field day schedule is very exciting, something for everyone to look forward to. Sweet corn pest…Read more about Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Field Day – Registration Now Open[Read More]
We are excited to announce that the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center Field Day is scheduled for June 28, 2023, at the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center (SWPAC), 4669 N. Purdue Rd. Vincennes, IN. Purdue researchers and NRCS representatives will present their current research and demonstration projects in fruit and vegetable production conducted at SWPAC. The topics…Read more about Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center Field Day _Registration Now Open![Read More]
The most recent two podcast episodes of the Strawberry Chat focus on spring weed and disease management. Spring Weed Management Podcast Kevin Schooley and Stephen Meyers joined the discussion to talk about weeds and weed management in matted-row and plasticulture strawberry production. Steve spoke about weeds commonly seen in strawberry fields and gave us a…Read more about Strawberry Podcasts on Spring Weed and Disease Management[Read More]
Dr. Janna Beckerman, Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist in the Dept. of Botany and Plant Pathology joined our discussion to talk about Spring Diseases and Management. Our discussion focused on Anthracnose fruit rot and Botrytis fruit rot. Janna described the biology of the pathogens and provided cultural and fungicide recommendations for managing these diseases. You…Read more about Strawberry Chat Podcast — Strawberry Spring Diseases and Management[Read More]
We are concerned about frost/freeze damage to the crops at this time of year. As I am writing this article, we had forecasted low temperatures in the lower 20sºF on March 14 and 18 in southern Indiana. How does this affect plasticulture strawberries? I want to share my thoughts in this article. Before discussing whether…Read more about Strawberry Spring Frost Protection—Considerations in March[Read More]
What is Optogen®? The active ingredient in Optogen® (Figure 1) is bicyclopyrone. Corn growers may recognize bicyclopyrone as one of the four ingredients in Acuron® herbicide. Bicyclopyrone is a Group 27 herbicide with pre- and post-emergence activity on select weed species. Group 27 herbicides inhibit an enzyme known as “HPPD”, resulting in an inhibition of…Read more about Optogen®- a New Herbicide Available in Select Vegetables and Strawberry[Read More]
5I have heard concerns about the size of strawberry plants this year. To provide a timely update of crop status, we created a blog site where there will be frequent updates of plasticulture strawberry status across Indiana. If you are interested in learning the current crop status, please visit this site https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/guan/blog/. We saw a…Read more about Plasticulture Strawberry Crop Status: Are Additional Protections Needed to Encourage Fall Growth?[Read More]
Row covers are used in plasticulture strawberry production for winter protection. There is also interest in using row covers to encourage fall growth. The different purposes of using row covers affect when farmers should consider applying the row covers, and what type of materials best meet these goals. At Strawberry Chat on Plasticulture production, Brad…Read more about Applying Row Covers for Winter Protection in Plasticulture Strawberry Production[Read More]