Why and what to do if strawberries rot in the garden

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

Why do strawberries rot on a bush

Strawberries begin to rot for various reasons. They can be grouped into three groups:

1. Improper care (excessive watering, rare loosening of the earth, irregular fertilizing, too dense planting).
2. Diseases (for example, 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, combined with the lack of loosening 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 especially often 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 do strawberries rot when ripe

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

• excessive watering;
• exposure to insects and birds (they gnaw holes through which the infection easily penetrates);
• lack of dry mulch;
• rare and irregular loosening.

Why are green strawberries still rotting

Sometimes strawberries rot on the bush before they are ripe. 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;
• lack of dry mulch;
• weed pollution.

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

Types of rot

If the strawberries began to rot, this clearly indicates that the plant has been damaged by a pest. The disease can be of different types. There are 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 examined. This is one of the signs of white rot. If you dig up a bush, then 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 varieties of strawberries rot, the first thing to do is stop watering. You should also treat with folk remedies or special preparations (fungicides).

Gray mold

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

Black rot

The main sign of black rot is a light mold 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 is also capable of spreading from one plant to another. When the first signs appear, it is necessary to carry out a total processing of all the bushes in the garden.

Brown spotting occurs 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. Carefully inspect the bushes and remove all damaged berries, shoots and leaves.
2. If the bush is significantly damaged, it must be dug up and carried away.
3. Replace mulch.
4. Completely stop watering 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 it.

Drug treatment

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

• “Bordeaux mixture”;
• “Topaz”;
• “Maksim”;
• “Quadris”;
• “Abiga Peak”.

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

• “Fitosporin”;
• “Gamair”;
• “Trichodermin”;
• Alirin B.

Means 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 dealing with rot on the berry

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

1. Pharmacy iodine (alcohol solution) of low concentration: you only need to dilute 10 drops in 10 liters of water. Spraying strawberries from rot is carried out for prevention, and during the disease – weekly until complete recovery.
2. Mustard powder. It is necessary to take two tablespoons with a slide (50 g) per 5 liters of hot (but not boiling water) and insist for two days. After that, strain through cheesecloth and bring the volume to the standard (10 l). Treatment is carried out during the disease and in April for prevention.
3. Grind 3-4 large cloves of garlic with a knife or in a blender, add a small amount of water and insist at room temperature for seven days. Then strain and bring the volume to 10 liters. Dissolve 50 g of laundry soap shavings 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 spraying the bushes.
5. You can also treat strawberries from rot with a relatively weak solution of potassium permanganate (it should be a rich pink color).

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

How to keep strawberries from rot

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

1. Choose hills for landing. If the place is in a lowland, it must be raised by making an additional embankment. Bushes can also 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 bricks and other small stones).
2. Planting, even in a greenhouse, should not be made too dense – at least 25 cm should be left between seedlings. Too close arrangement of plants leads to the rapid spread of rot. A dense landing 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 stop watering completely. This is especially important if the summer turned out to be rainy and hot at the same time.
4. The plant needs regular top dressing up to 4-5 times per season, starting from April and ending in August.
5. After each watering or heavy rain, the earth 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 treat all bushes with effective folk remedies or preparations:

• Bordeaux liquid;
• “Horus”;
• “Integral”;
• infusion of ash (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 become moldy and rot, this may be due to the fact that the fruits, under their own weight, gradually sink to the ground, and the bush cannot withstand them. To avoid this, you can take the following measures:

1. Lay a layer of dry mulch – it can be straw or wood shavings. Natural material not only protects the berries, but also retains soil moisture, prevents the growth of weeds and even protects plantings from pests.
2. As a mulch, you can also put a film, and not polyethylene, but a special garden one (sold in country stores). However, because of it, it will be more difficult to water the plants, and in rainy summers, moisture will still accumulate.
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 bushes as needed to keep them from sinking to the surface.
5. Install purchased or homemade coasters (for example, from wire or a plastic bottle).

Plastic stand for a strawberry bush

The lining itself, although it helps, does not guarantee protection against 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

To avoid rotten berries on strawberries, it is recommended to choose varieties that are resistant to this phenomenon. These include:

• Zenith;

  

• Rumba;

  

• Desenyanka;

  

• Ruby pendant;

  

• Muto;

  

• Tenira;

  

• Pocahontas;

  

• Kokinskaya early.

  

Conclusion

Strawberries rot mainly due to excessive watering and due to objective factors (hot and rainy summers). But you can deal with this problem. The greatest efficiency is shown by treatment with drugs. In the early stages allow the use of folk remedies. At the same time, for prevention, you need to observe the watering rate, lay out dry mulch and do not plant strawberries too tightly.