What can I spray on strawberries to prevent disease?

General Fruit Growing
1

Last year half of my small patch was ravaged by some kind of disease, blight or something. Barely had time to get the June picking in before the plants just kind of turned color and dried up. So this year I want to start early with some sort of preventive spray. I was planning on Daconil, but there’s no instructions for strawberries, and for fruit trees the directions say not to spray between blossom and fruiting. Is there something else I can use?

2

I’m not sure about your zone 5 weather and the diseases you have there. Whereabouts are you located?

3

Central NY. Just did a quick search, and looks like leaf spot and gray mold, but it’s the leaf disease that’s wiping out the plants…

4

For the gray mold use Captan, and use acidic or neutral water, not tap water. Buy distilled water if you have to. Use before bloom! For the leaf spot use copper. Follow label directions. One product is Bonide liquid copper concentrate.
Here is the label
http://www.bonide.com/lbonide/backlabels/l811.pdf

I have used only Captan before bloom, and it also knocks out the leaf spot. I have had no need to use copper. The Captan works really well. It won’t work at all if you use tap water.
http://www.bonide.com/lbonide/backlabels/l171.pdf

5

I would not want to spray any chemicals when the fruits are forming. You can peel apple even pears, but not strawberry…

6

If it is bacterial spot disease then an agricultural copper spray will control it. I’ve no idea what brands are available to you on shelves in N.Y. I’d look for a bacterial disease control containing copper ammonium. If you order online then the product “Liqui-Cop” from Monterey Lawn & Garden is what I use out here. The more industrial approach is to purchase Copper Hydroxide (e.g., Dupont Kocide 3000) but the dosages will be listed per acre; i.e., a couple of pounds is probably a lifetime supply.

7

Here’s one bed, and I water overhead too, not a great way to do it, but notice no leaf spot at all

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8

Captan is no problem. It has a 1 day PHI on strawberries.

9

Captan can be used for scab on peaches, and various things on blueberries, brambles, and all other stone fruit. When I do my strawberries I mix a batch up for my trees too, as a preventative for scab, leaf spot, brown rot. I use other fungicides for brown rot, but captan is best for scab.

10

I’m picking some up tomorrow. Should have done this years ago.

11

yeah…I hear ya’. Same with me, I finally bought the 6 1/4 lb. bag from Keystone Pest Solutions. Look that up Ed…it’s the best deal going out there I think. They sell the 50WP and the 80WDG. The 80WDG is by far the better bang for the buck. Since spraying it for the first time I really, really like these water dispersible granules…so clean and easy to measure out and they dissolve like “right now” and it doesn’t settle out of solution at all while I spray it. Like it, like it a lot.
Captan is so dang versatile too, can be used on a ton of different stuff.

12

Immunox (Myclobutanil) is widely used on strawberries in California. I had the same problem as you on my Seascape strawberries. I’ve been using Immunox this year, and haven’t had any problems. It is listed as ok to apply up to date of harvest.

13

Looks like I can kill a couple of birds with one stone. My small apple grafts are showing a few rust spots, and the Immunox looks like it’s good for Strawberry leaf spot and Apple rusts.