Maryland cultivation of strawberry facts for kids

The state's crops include strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa.

Production

In 2017 a total of 210 acres (85 ha) was grown. This crop is grown in all counties and the City of Baltimore.

Disease

Gray Mold (Botrytis cinerea) is a common problem as it is around the world. Fernández-Ortuño et al., 2014 finds populations here have resistance to fludioxonil and to thiophanate-methyl. Many are multiresistant.

Hu et al., also find widespread resistance to SDHIs here. They find several etiologies, with various sdhB alleles producing the resistance. H272R resistance to boscalid, H272R or H272Y multiresistance to boscalid and to penthiopyrad, H272Y resistance to boscalid, fluxapyroxad, and penthiopyrad, and P225F or N230I resistance to boscalid, to fluopyram, fluxapyroxad, and penthiopyrad. There appears to be no resistance to benzovindiflupyr here. This is because it is a new substance.

Much of the phytoplasma research here in the 1990s was conducted by the Jomantiene group at USDA ARS Beltsville. This includes the first detection of both Clover Yellow Edge and STRAWB2 in this crop here. This is also the first report of STRAWB2 anywhere outside of Florida.

Black Root Rot is common here. This is a disease with an uncertain etiology thought to involve several combined pathogens.

Spraying

University of Maryland Extension recommends fungicides: Lime sulfur, JMS Stylet Oil, Kocide, Captan, Thiram, Sulfur, Rally, Pristine, Elevate, Switch, Phostrol, and Ph-D. For insecticides: Provado Admire or Actara, Brigade, Malathion, and Sevin. (These are recommended for all small fruit, so not just strawberry, but also brambles (blackberry and raspberry), blueberry, and grape.)

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