N.S. strawberry growers keep watch for possible fungal disease in crop
A Colchester County farm manager is concerned about a strawberry disease that has reached P.E.I. and could potentially make its way into Nova Scotia.
Neopestalotiopsis, which is a fungal pathogen, harms both leaves and fruit.
Jonathan Millen of Millen Farms says he hasn't encountered it on his crops yet, but thinks it is only a matter of time since it has already reached the region.
"It can basically devastate your whole crop in the matter of a few days, so it is financially concerning," says Millen.
There is no cure for the disease.
"There's different spray practices or fungicide practices that they say help," said Millen. "There really isn't anything [to cure it]. It's kind of like cancer."
Philip Keddy, vice-president of Horticulture Nova Scotia, said farmers need to keep an eye out this summer for brown spots on their leaves, which is one of the symptoms of the disease.
He said parts of the southern U.S. have been working to eradicate the disease, but haven't been successful.
Fungus taking over some strawberry plants this season, P.E.I. farmer says
5 days ago
Duration 2:21
We're weeks away from strawberry season on Prince Edward Island, but it's been a difficult start for some farms. A fungus is causing damage to the plants and some growers are concerned. CBC's Stacey Janzer has the details.
Keddy, who also manages the Keddy Nursery on Lakeville, said keeping new plants on a spraying program helps minimize the risk of further spread.
"It's back to starting with a clean plant and having a good spray program to protect that through your first, second, third year," he said.
Keddy believes that all levels of government should provide more information about the disease and educate farmers on ways to reduce the spread.
Millen says too much rain may also affect his crops.
Since March 15, it has rained at least one day during every weekend in Nova Scotia, almost 13 weekends in a row.
"Two years ago … it rained, like, almost every day, and [the strawberries] got to a point where we just had to drop a lot of fields. We couldn't continue to harvest them," he said.
"So, we're actually hoping for a dry summer."
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