2024 Strawberry Disease Decision Support System
The fungal diseases, anthracnose (caused by Colletotrichum spp.) and Botrytis grey mould (caused by Botrytis cinerea), are the major fruit diseases in Ontario strawberries. By integrating a disease prediction model into management, growers can use fungicides more effectively to protect their crops through the season. In 2024, a map indicating anthracnose fruit rot and botrytis risk is available for growers to use to help assess the risk of disease epidemics from bloom to harvest (fig. 1).
OMAFRA has partnered with Weather Source to provide OnPoint Weather. The locations on the map are based on agricultural production and use all nearby weather data and geography to provide accurate forecasting data.
The disease model used is based on the Florida Strawberry Advisory System (FLSAS) developed by W. Pavan et al.. This risk modelling tool is used to identify anthracnose fruit rot and Botrytis fruit rot risk based on leaf wetness and temperature data. For our calculations, leaf wetness is predicted based on relative humidity that is adjusted to account for crop canopy. If the adjusted relative humidity is over 90% for the hour, it is considered as 1 hour of leaf wetness. The average temperature is calculated over the leaf wetness period, and this is used in the equations to calculate the infection risk index, from 0-1.
The Strawberry Diseases Decision Support System can be found on the ONfruit blog under the ‘Berries’ tab, or you can bookmark this page: 2024 Strawberry Disease Decision Support System. The Strawberry Diseases Decision Support System includes a map indicating fruit infection risk across the province and a graph tracking risk through the season.
The 2024 strawberry anthracnose management suggestions are also available here.
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