22-03-2025
Why strawberries in Ohio could be fewer this spring
COLUMBUS (WCMH) — A recently discovered disease on crops is already having an impact on strawberries in Ohio.
Neopestalotiopsis on strawberries has caused a 'significant crop loss in the state,' according to Ohio State University plant pathologist Melanie Lewis Ivey, an associate professor and Extension State Specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology in Wooster.
Last fall, she wrote an article for Ohio Fruit News, an Ohio State publication, describing the difficulty strawberry producers in Ohio are facing this season in procuring plants free of the 'aggressive' disease. The likely result will be a significant strawberry shortage this spring at U-Pick farms around Ohio, resulting in higher prices for consumers due to the reduced supply.
The fungus, or pathogen, was first found in Ohio in 2021, and has since spread from the Carolinas to eastern Canada. Signs of disease show up as browning leaves in the mother plants acquired from affected nurseries.
'Runners that come off the mother plant are then potted up into daughter plans. If the mother plant is infected with the pathogen, there's a high probability that the daughter plant is also infected,' Ivey said. The disease will show up in both greenhouse strawberries and those grown in the field.
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Brett Rhoads, who manages more than 150 acres of fruits and vegetables at his family farm near Circleville, noticed the fungus on plants he purchased from a producer in Canada last autumn.
'We didn't realize until after we planted, we got some lab test results back that they were infected with the new disease,' Rhoads said. As a result, he is concerned this year's strawberry crop, which normally ripens in the middle of May, could be entirely lost. 'There's a lot of money sitting out there, tens of thousands of dollars.'
Rhoads said strawberries are naturally difficult to grow in Ohio under the best conditions, and the process is very labor-intensive.
Ivey said it is unclear whether the fungus can overwinter in Ohio, but noted that a trend toward milder winters raises the concern that the fungus could linger on plant debris. She advised that growers who have already planted their crops can apply fungicides to help slow the disease. After harvesting, the field 'should be ploughed and harrowed to chop up the remaining crowns and runners.'
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