Why and what to do if strawberries rot in the garden

Strawberries rots for various reasons, most often they are associated with improper care. If the bushes are planted too tightly, and the watering is excessive, the fruits may suffer from gray, black or white rot. Diseases are infectious and spread very quickly. Therefore, at the first sign, it is necessary to carry out treatment with drugs or folk remedies.

Why does strawberry rot on a bush

Strawberries start to rot for a variety of reasons. They can be grouped into three groups:

1. Improper care (excessive watering, rare loosening of the earth, irregular feeding, too tight planting).
2. Diseases (eg, white, gray, black rot).
3. Weather factors - heavy rains, cloudy summers combined with intense heat (increased soil and air humidity).

These factors are interrelated. For example, excessive watering in combination with the lack of loosening of the earth leads to the fact that not only the berries, but also the roots rot, which can lead to the death of the bush.

Strawberries are especially prone to rot after rains. Therefore, watering must be regulated so that the earth has time to dry out. The top layer should remain barely damp.

Why does strawberry rots when ripe

If the berry rots on the bush during ripening, this may be due to the following common reasons:

• excessive watering;
• exposure to insects and birds (they gnaw holes through which infection easily penetrates);
• no dry mulch;
• rare and improper loosening.

Why is the green strawberry still rotting?

Sometimes strawberries rots on the bush before they ripen. This indicates a strong waterlogging and the spread of fungal diseases. Green berries are not yet in contact with the ground, but at the same time, the bushes are already affected by spores. The provoking factors are:

• excessive watering;
• lack of ventilation in the greenhouse;
• too tight fit;
• no dry mulch;
• weed contamination.

Most often, the culture suffers from irrational watering and too dense planting.

Rot types

If the strawberry begins to rot, this clearly indicates that the plant has been damaged by a pest. The disease can be of different types. Distinguish between white, gray and black rot.

White rot

If the berries, as well as shoots and leaves, are covered with white fluff, the seedlings must be carefully inspected. This is one of the signs of white rot. If you dig up a bush, you can find transparent mucus on its roots. This is a fungal pathology that spreads rapidly among plants. The disease occurs against the background of excessive moisture.

If remontant or other strawberry varieties are rotting, the first thing to do is to stop watering. You should also carry out the treatment with folk remedies or special preparations (fungicides).

Gray rot

Gray mold is another fungal disease that affects all strawberries. However, the pathology behaves especially aggressively on berries. They are covered with a characteristic gray coating, which is the main sign of infection.In this plaque, spores multiply, after which they, together with the air, are transferred to neighboring bushes. Infection occurs especially quickly if the planting is too tight.

Black rot

The main symptom of black rot is light mildew that covers the fruit. At the same time, they lose their normal taste and aroma, becoming watery. Over time, the mold on the surface darkens and becomes almost black, which is why the disease got its name. This fungal infection can also spread from one plant to another. When the first signs appear, it is necessary to carry out a total treatment of all the bushes in the garden.

Brown spot is found on strawberries. But this is a disease caused by bacteria, not fungi.

What to do if strawberries rot on a bush in the garden

Rot on strawberries can and should be treated. For this, chemical, biological preparations and folk remedies are used. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. Examine the bushes carefully and remove all damaged berries, shoots and leaves.
2. If the bush is significantly damaged, it must be dug up and taken away.
3. Replace the mulch layer.
4. Stop watering completely for at least a week.
5. Carry out treatment with drugs or folk remedies.

If the bush is significantly damaged, it is better to dig it up and destroy

Treatment with drugs

First of all, you need to spray the strawberries from rot with chemicals:

• "Bordeaux mixture";
• "Topaz";
• "Maksim";
• "Quadris";
• Abiga Peak.

During fruiting, it is better to treat strawberries from rot not with chemical, but with biological means:

• Fitosporin;
• "Gamair";
• Trichodermin;
• Alirin B.

The funds are used exactly according to the instructions. They are bred in water and processed 1-2 times per season. Some drugs are toxic to humans and / or bees, domestic animals. Therefore, spraying is carried out in protective clothing, masks and gloves.

Folk methods of combating berry rot

You can also get rid of rot on strawberries using folk remedies. The most effective are:

1. Pharmacy iodine (alcohol solution) of low concentration: you need to dilute only 10 drops in 10 liters of water. Spraying strawberries from rot is carried out for prevention, and during illness - weekly until complete recovery.
2. Mustard powder. It is necessary to take two heaped tablespoons (50 g) for 5 liters of hot (but not boiling water) and leave for two days. Then strain through cheesecloth and bring the volume to standard (10 l). The treatment is carried out during the illness and in April for prophylaxis.
3. Chop 3-4 large cloves of garlic with a knife or in a blender, add a small amount of water and leave at room temperature for seven days. Then strain and bring the volume to 10 liters. Dissolve 50 g of shavings of laundry soap or 30–40 ml of liquid soap.
4. Also, an infusion of garlic can be combined with mustard powder (100 g), soda ash (50 g) and tar soap shavings (20 g). All quantities are given for a standard 10 L bucket. The mixture is insisted for several days, filtered and started to spray the bushes.
5. You can also treat strawberries from rot with a relatively weak solution of potassium permanganate (it should be saturated pink).

Folk remedies allow you to cope with the disease at an early stage

How to keep strawberries from rot

It is always more difficult to save strawberries from rot than to prevent this phenomenon. Therefore, it is better to take preventive measures in advance, which boil down to proper care of bushes and fruits:

1. Choose elevations for planting. If the place is located in a lowland, it must be lifted by making an additional embankment. Also, bushes can be grown in boxes.If groundwater is close to the surface, a drainage layer should be laid at a depth of 10–15 cm (pebbles, expanded clay, broken brick and other small stones).
2. Planting even in a greenhouse should not be done too tightly - at least 25 cm should be left between the seedlings. Too close arrangement of plants leads to the rapid spread of rot. A tight fit prevents the earth from drying out, impairs the exchange of air and moisture.
3. If there are a lot of rotten strawberries, the first thing to do is to completely stop watering. This is especially important if the summer is rainy and hot at the same time.
4. The plant needs regular feeding up to 4-5 times per season, from April to August.
5. After each watering or heavy rain, the soil must be loosened. During the procedure, only the surface layer is affected so as not to harm the root system.

It is very important every spring (in April) to process all the bushes with effective folk remedies or preparations:

• Bordeaux liquid;
• Horus;
• "Integral";
• ash infusion (200 g per 10 l);
• infusion of powdered mustard (4 tablespoons per 10 liters).

What to put so that strawberries do not rot on the ground

If the strawberries grow moldy and rot, this may be due to the fact that the fruits gradually sink to the ground under their own weight, and the bush cannot withstand them. To avoid this, you can take the following measures:

1. Lay a layer of dry mulch - this can be straw or wood shavings. Natural material not only protects the berries, but also preserves soil moisture, prevents weeds from growing and even protects plantings from pests.
2. As a mulch, you can also put a film, and not polyethylene, but a special garden film (sold in suburban stores). However, it will make it more difficult to water the plants, and moisture will still accumulate in rainy summers.
3. You can also put thick cardboard, wooden blocks, slate and other materials. The material is periodically turned over - otherwise slugs may start.
4. Tie up the bushes as necessary so that they do not sink to the surface.
5. Install purchased or homemade coasters (for example, made of wire or a plastic bottle).

Plastic stand for strawberry bush

The lining itself, while helping, does not guarantee protection from rot. Therefore, it is best to combine both methods - lay the mulch and tie up the bushes. Then the fruits will not come into contact with wet or dry mulch at all.

Rot resistant strawberry varieties

So that there are no rotten berries on the strawberries, it is recommended to choose varieties that are resistant to this phenomenon. These include:

• Zenith;
  
• Rumba;
  
• Gum;
  
• Ruby pendant;
  
• Mutou;
  
• Tenir;
  
• Pocahontas;
  
• Kokinskaya early.
  

Conclusion

Strawberries rots mainly due to excessive watering and due to objective factors (hot and rainy summers). But this problem can be dealt with. Treatment with drugs shows the greatest efficiency. In the early stages, the use of folk remedies is allowed. At the same time, for prevention, you need to observe the watering rate, lay out dry mulch and not plant strawberries too tightly.

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