California Fruit and Vegetable

Category: Strawberries

  • Extending the Shelf-Life of Strawberries

    Advances in technology, automation, and remote sensing is a cross-cutting, macro movement in science impacting agriculture outlined in the USDA Science Blueprint (PDF, 2.6 MB). The Science Blueprint guides USDA’s science priorities for the next 5 years, building from past success. Relative to other crops, many specialty crops are more dependent on agricultural labor for production, harvesting, and processing. This is part of a blog series that highlights research investments to advance automation and mechanization for specialty crops.

    We’ve all enjoyed some delicious strawberries this summer, but a short-shelf life can limit that enjoyment. One of the biggest challenges in U.S. strawberry production is managing diseases and pests. The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea results in gray mold, or the unappetizing gray fuzz that can quickly appear on strawberries all too soon after we get them home. Growers typically apply fungicides on a weekly basis to control gray mold as well as other fungal diseases.

    Agricultural Research Service (ARS) researchers developed an alternative technology called PhylloLux, which combines Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation followed by a specific dark period. UV-C kills microbes by damaging their DNA, but doses required to kill fungal pathogens can also damage plant leaves and fruit. ARS researchers found that including a dark period after irradiation prevents activation of a daylight-induced mechanism that repairs DNA damage in microbes and allows for much shorter UV-C irradiation times. The resulting UV-C/dark (UV-C/d) treatment of strawberry plants twice per week, as suggested for commercial application, did not affect nutritional values of strawberry fruit.

    To move the technology to commercial use, ARS scientists first developed a self-propelled, fully automated and programable apparatus that was used for night-time irradiation of strawberries in a high tunnel culture. In 2019, a second robot was developed for autonomous application of UV-C/d in commercial strawberry fields. Preliminary results from two farms in Delaware indicate the UV-C/d application was as good as weekly fungicide sprays.

    The combination of innovation in approach to disease management and in application through new technology is a result of close collaboration between plant pathologists, horticulturists, entomologists and engineers. In fall 2020 larger California pilot tests are planned for targeted pests, including aphids, thrips, scale insects, and slugs.

    PhylloLux is a prime example of innovation in agriculture production as a solution for farmers, consumers, and the environment in support of the USDA Agriculture Innovation Agenda goal to increase U.S. agricultural production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. Growers can benefit from the resulting drastic kill of fungal plant pathogens causing gray mold, powdery mildew, and anthracnose. The new method is also an effective control for spider mites, further reducing produce loss to growers. Reducing pesticide use improves environmental outcomes and has potential for organic as well as conventional production. And we’ll all benefit from enjoying those strawberries longer.

    This research supports the “value-added innovation” theme outlined in the USDA Science Blueprintand moves us closer to meeting the goals outlined in USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda. – By Dr. Fumiomi Takeda, Research Horticulturist, Dr. Wojciech Janisiewicz, Research Plant Pathologist (retired), Dr. Joseph E. Munyaneza, National Program Leader, Vegetable, Sugarbeet & Greenhouse Crops, USDA Agricultural Research Service

  • Freeze-Dried Strawberries & Ice Cream Make for a Very Stable Relationship

    ARS researchers have shown some freeze-dried berry powders—especially freeze-dried strawberry powder—can act as outstanding stabilizers in ice cream and other frozen dairy desserts.

    Freeze-dried strawberry powder is so effective a stabilizer that frozen dairy desserts with it included will maintain their shape even after reaching room temperature, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research food technologist Cristina Bilbao-Sainz with the Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit in Albany, California.

    To be technically classified as ice cream, it must contain between 10 percent and 16 percent milkfat; everything else is called a frozen dairy dessert.

    Physical scientist Craig Carriere enjoys fat-free soft-serve ice cream produced with Fantesk (Photo by Keith Weller).

    Without a stabilizer, ice cream—home-made or commercial—can become unpleasantly crunchy with the growth of large ice crystals. It can happen in either or both the ice cream maker or the freezer, when temperatures change. Stabilizers also slow down melting, prevent wheying off (the leaking of a clear watery serum), help avoid shrinking during storage and increase your mouth’s perception of creaminess.

    Standard stabilizers such as sodium alginate, guar gum, iota carrageenan, xanthan gum and carboxymethyl cellulose are commonplace. But people tend to react negatively to these unfamiliar, chemical sounding names when they appear on an ice cream label, assuming these must be artificial ingredients.

    Actually, many do come from natural sources. For example, sodium alginate is extracted from brown seaweed.

    Bilbao-Sainz became intrigued with the idea of freeze-dried fruit powders as ice cream stabilizers when an all-natural dessert maker came looking for scientific facts about them. The possibilities of freeze-dried fruit powder have been previously known but not technically quantified.

    “We discovered that some of the freeze-dried fruit powders—especially strawberries—completely prevent the melt-down of dairy frozen desserts similar to ice cream made with whole milk, whole whipping cream, sugar and skim milk powder,” Bilbao-Sainz said. “Freeze-dried berry powder will absorb moisture from the premix base, improving its stability and texture to the point where the frozen dessert will keep its shape even after “melting” to room temperature.”

    This is probably due to the fiber in the berry powder becoming completely hydrated, which contributes to an increase in viscosity and resistance to melt-down, she explained.

    In Bilbao-Sainz’s testing, adding 3.5 percent of either strawberry, raspberry or blackberry freeze‐dried powder reduced the water available for ice crystal formation during stirring and freezing, preventing crystal growth and slowing melting. That translates to adding about 0.7 ounces for a 1-quart home ice cream maker.

    Strawberry powder was the best stabilizer, completely preventing melt‐down, followed closely by raspberry. While blackberry powder prevented the frozen dessert from wheying off the foam structure still collapsed so it lost its original shape.

    Blueberry powder, on the other hand, did not prevent melt-down or ice crystal formation during refreezing, and the frozen dessert showed a little wheying off.

    Of course, using freeze-dried strawberry powder as a stabilizer in frozen dairy desserts such as ice creams also means accounting for the added strawberry flavoring—a plus if you are making strawberry balsamic vinegar ice cream, more difficult in a brown butter bourbon ice cream recipe. — By Kim Kaplan, USDA-ARS

    This research was published in the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • USDA Announces Details of Direct Assistance to Farmers

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local distributors, whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need.

    “America’s farming community is facing an unprecedented situation as our nation tackles the coronavirus. President Trump has authorized USDA to ensure our patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers are supported and we are moving quickly to open applications to get payments out the door and into the pockets of farmers,” said Secretary Perdue. “These payments will help keep farmers afloat while market demand returns as our nation reopens and recovers. America’s farmers are resilient and will get through this challenge just like they always do with faith, hard work, and determination.”

    Beginning May 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), will be accepting applications from agricultural producers who have suffered losses.

    Background:

    CFAP provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.

    Farmers and ranchers will receive direct support, drawn from two possible funding sources. The first source of funding is $9.5 billion in appropriated funding provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act to compensate farmers for losses due to price declines that occurred between mid-January 2020, and mid-April 2020 and provides support for specialty crops for product that had been shipped from the farm between the same time period but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channels. The second funding source uses the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to compensate producers for $6.5 billion in losses due to on-going market disruptions.

    Non-Specialty Crops and Wool

    Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat, and hard red spring wheat. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A payment will be made based 50 percent of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.

    Livestock

    Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.

    Dairy

    For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a producer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter.

    Specialty Crops

    For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.

    Eligibility

    There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

    Applying for Assistance

    Producers can apply for assistance beginning on May 26, 2020. Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020.

    Payment Structure

    To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available.

    USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

  • Berry People Expands to Support Steady Growth

    Berry People (www.berrypeople.com), a year-round, full-line shipper of branded organic and conventional strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and avocados has created new positions within its organization, added team members, and moved operations to a larger central CA office to accommodate the growth, with team members temporarily working from home until the mitigation of COVID-19 matters.

    Damon Barkdull – Sr. Commodity-Sales Manager

    “We are thankful to be an essential part of the nation’s food supply chain, allowing us to support the people in our Berry People community, including our growers, employees, customers and consumers,” said Jerald Downs, president, speaking of the worldwide effects of COVID-19. “We’re assessing the short and long-term effects of the pandemic, and taking measures to manage business risk, while also ensuring the safety of our field labor, consumers, and everyone in between. Our cloud-based and mobile work environment allow us to continue the quality of service that our buyers and growers expect, and we are effectively managing our supply-chain to support the market’s demands.”

    These business moves are consistent with the company’s long-term strategic plan for continual expansion since launching in 2017. Recent key hires include the addition of an ERP-process analyst, financial controller and regional supply managers. “These specialized roles improve functional efficiency, optimize deployment of resources, tighten risk management, and deepen relationships with growers and suppliers,” said Michael Osumi, VP Supply-Operations.

    “Strong core values and a clear company vision support our intentional organization and job design, so our valued team members convey a unified brand promise to our service providers and customers,” said Downs. “These characteristics support our ‘unity in diversity’ philosophy, leaning into each other’s strengths towards a common goal. Our growth and building balance sheet also enable us to increase our investment activity in technology, genetics, and packaging innovation, which supports our long-term growth and profitability.”

    Michael Osumi – VP Supply-Operations

    “As we approach our third full year in business, our customers can increasingly rely on us for substantially increased volume coverage, and improved continuity across the entire berry and avocado categories, materially reducing the seasonal gaps that are common with young companies like ours,” added Damon Barkdull, senior commodity-sales manager. “With strong business results and overwhelmingly positive customer feedback to date, we never stop looking for better ways to anticipate needs and shorten response times.”

    Berry People and its alliance partners have operations in California, Mexico, Chile, and Peru. The company offers year-round availability of organic and conventional strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and avocados through the Berry People and Avo People brands.

    “As we build financial strength, we plan to build our ‘social balance sheet’ as well, increasing our position in and commitment to both the marketplace, and to the communities we work in,” said Downs. “We look forward to giving back to the stakeholders that have embraced our organization, appreciating the fact that

    Jerald Downs – President

    we’re a company whose growth is driven fundamentally by trust.”

    Berry People’s short-term plans include the significant expansion of its summer organic strawberry program and a substantially increased position in the Peruvian avocado and blueberry industries.

    About Berry People:
    Berry People is a year-round, full-line shipper of branded organic and conventional strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and avocados, and owner of the Berry People and Avo People brands. Headquartered in Hollister, California, the company’s ownership and key alliance partners hold important production assets in California, Mexico, Chile and Peru. All product is graded and allocated by pallet, and all growers are fully compliant with USDA and FDA regulations on food safety and organic practices. Berry People operates with a strong company ethos along its entire supply chain that emphasizes complementarity, stewardship and empathy. For more information, visit www.berrypeople.com, or www.avopeople.com.

  • California Strawberry Growers & Farm Workers Pick Safety

    Pick Safety is a new effort from the California Strawberry Commission to highlight farm worker safety and industry-leading training and safety practices by emphasizing that everybody is responsible to always pick safety.

    “Our new I Pick Safety logo reminds people to be safe and healthy, and it highlights why this is important,” said Carolyn O’Donnell, communications director of the Commission. “Incorporating the tag line ‘For Me. For All.’ keeps the focus on every person’s role in protecting our families—from kids to seniors, along with the community at large.”

    The Commission is highly respected for its award-winning food safety program, providing train-the-trainer, classroom and in-field training programs, as well as sustainability and a variety of workforce training and safety courses. As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic was identified, the Commission went straight to work, identifying how to keep workers safe and healthy, and working with government and medical experts to provide the best advice available to California strawberry farmers.

    The Commission’s website has become the go-to source for current information on the coronavirus/COVID-19 situation, specifically tailored for farms and farm workers (https://www.calstrawberry.com/en-us/Coronavirus). This website has a series of audio, video, visual aids, guidance, and other resources that are available in English and translated into Spanish and Mixtec to help farm workers stay safe on the job and at home. Many materials are printed and suitable for posting on the ranch.

    Over the past 60 days, the Commission staff has visited nearly every strawberry farm currently operating in California, and provided on-site training, signage and informative materials to keep farm workers healthy, highlighting the Centers for Disease Control guidance on creating a safer work environment, and how to protect oneself through daily activities.

    California’s 400+ family strawberry farms provide over 70,000 well-paying jobs and generate over $3.4 billion of annual economic impact. “Strawberries are one of the most labor-intensive crops, and strawberry farmers are working diligently to protect farm workers while providing a consistent supply of this nutritious fruit to consumers,” said  O’Donnell. “Many strawberry farmers started in the fields planting and picking berries. This gives them a unique perspective and they are very appreciative and protective of their workforce.”  

    The Commission’s efforts include information on increased illness prevention training (at home and work), adopting crew and schedule modifications to implement social distancing during harvest, increasing the amount of hand washing facilities and hand sanitizing stations available in the field, sanitizing field facilities and work stations more frequently and keeping a watchful eye on employee health.

    Strawberry farmers and field supervisors are also working to quickly identify any workers who may be exhibiting illness symptoms and are being trained to help them isolate the individual to avoid spreading the virus to others. In California, most strawberry farm workers have paid sick leave as well as health insurance.

    While COVID-19 presents new challenges, for many years farmers in California have operated under the most stringent standards in the nation, governing field sanitation and worker safety. These existing standards have provided an important basis for the I Pick Safety program as farmers move with expediency to adopt worker protection protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, maintain the health of our dedicated farm workers and ensure the safety of our food supply. The increased training and attention during this coronavirus pandemic should reassure consumers that wholesome and delicious strawberries will remain available for their families to enjoy.

    About California Strawberries:

    The California Strawberry Commission represents more than 400 strawberry farmers, shippers, and processors, proudly working together to advance strawberry farming for the future of our land and people. Commission programs create opportunities for success through groundbreaking programs focused on workforce training, strawberry production research, and nutrition research. Through science-based information and education, we deliver good news about sustainable farming practices that benefit the health of people, farms, and communities. California Strawberry Commission

  • 2020 Strawberry Market Outlook with Rabobank

    Strawberry planted acreage in California is up YOY in 2020 from its lowest level in almost 15 years, and increased plantings in the Santa Maria producing region continue. Florida’s acreage remains flat, while strawberry plantings in Mexico continue to expand.

    Updated estimates, based on our proprietary analytical tool, show that weekly strawberry shipments will increase in 2020, especially during California peak season in May and June, bringing prices down in specific weeks, compared to observed prices in 2019. We now include estimates for the organic strawberry market. Higher yields and acreage will boost weekly shipments during spring/summer 2020. Despite general price-pressure, there are market windows with potentially more favorable opportunities in the organic space for cost-competitive firms.


    Impacts from COVID-19 are a mixed-bag for the strawberry industry. Food-service sales are in decline, while retail grocery sales have jumped. Labor availability is being negatively impacted, and remains the biggest issue.

     

    Click here to download the report

  • Andrew & Williamson/Good Farms, Rancho Guadalupe & Dynasty Farms Support Food Banks

    In one of the first agreements of its kind between California producers and a county food bank, two farms will begin providing, at a reasonable rate, produce to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, allowing it to provide additional much-needed fresh fruit and vegetables to a growing number of residents in need of assistance. This innovative pilot program assists the food banks while keeping the agricultural supply chain together which is critical to the future of food supply.

    “We are excited that our members have the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded organizations such as the Alameda County Food Bank who support initiatives like Food as Medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic has focused our efforts on building and supporting the health and wellbeing of our broader communities; ensuring the future of fresh produce plays a paramount role in our efforts. This partnership enables our food supply chain to stay intact and therefore our producers can continue to grow fresh produce at the same level,” says Kirti Mutakar, Chief Executive Officer of UnitedAg.

    “When the COVID-19 crisis hit, and the foodservice operations all came to a standstill overnight, millions of jobs were lost and with it the demand for our produce. To bring more diverse options to the foodbank, and at the same time recover our cost to grow and harvest it, creative solutions were necessary to take care of those who need it most and help keep agriculture whole,” says A.J. Cisney, General Manager of Rancho Guadalupe.

    Deliveries will begin May 5, with nearly 4,000 pounds of strawberries from Andrew & Williamson / Good Farms, Rancho Guadalupe, and over 7,000 crowns of broccoli from Dynasty Farms. These are foods that have not been regularly available at the food banks. The pilot program hopes to expand into the larger state network of food banks (California Association of Food Banks) and increase its product offerings. UnitedAg Member Farms are hopeful this concept will grow into something bigger.

    About UnitedAg

    Founded in 1980, UnitedAg is a multi-commodity member-owned agricultural trade association dedicated to providing innovative healthcare solutions for a strong and healthy agricultural industry. Our over 1,000 agriculture affiliated member organizations network and share creative ways to transform our ever-changing industry. UnitedAg strives to bring innovative health benefits and solutions to agribusiness by meeting our member’s employee health benefits needs, advocating for ag with lawmakers and helping members comply with regulations.  Based in Irvine, Calif., UnitedAg has offices in Oxnard, Corona, Salinas, Fresno and Santa Maria.

  • UC Davis Releases 5 New Strawberry Varieties

    The Public Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis, has released five new varieties that will help farmers manage diseases, control costs and produce plenty of large, robust berries using less water, fertilizer and pesticides. Two of the new varieties could increase yields by almost 30 percent.

    Five new strawberry varieties from the Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis will help farmers manage diseases, control cost and produce plenty of large, robust berries using less water, fertilizer and pesticides. These are the strawberries in Salinas and Watsonville on Monday, July 1, 2019.

    The Public Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis, has released five new varieties that will help farmers manage diseases, control costs and produce plenty of large, robust berries using less water, fertilizer and pesticides. Two of the new varieties could increase yields by almost 30 percent.

    “These new varieties are intrinsically different from the ones they replace,” said Steve Knapp, professor and director of the UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program. “After more than three years of field tests, we’re seeing higher yields, greater disease resistance and better quality after harvest.”

    UC Davis Valiant strawberry variety is one of the five new strawberry varieties from the Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis that will help farmers manage diseases, control cost and produce plenty of large, robust berries using less water, fertilizer and pesticides. These are the strawberries in Salinas on Monday, July 1, 2019.

    The new pedigrees should benefit consumers, as well. “The price and quality of strawberries improve when farmers have access to varieties that help them grow better berries more cost efficiently,” said Dave Murray, a farmer and partner in Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce.

    Since its inception in the 1930s, the UC Davis Public Strawberry Breeding Program has developed more than 60 patented varieties, turned strawberries into a year-round crop and increased strawberry yield from about 6 tons per acre in the 1950s to more than 30 tons per acre today. The United States is the world’s largest producer of strawberries, and almost 90 percent of them are grown in California’s cool, coastal climates. About 60 percent of the state’s strawberry fields are planted with varieties developed at UC Davis.

    Each of the new varieties will have its own farming niche — thriving better in certain environments under specific growing conditions. Three of the new varieties — Moxie, Royal Royce and Valiant — will perform well throughout the long, warm days of summer. Two varieties — Victor and Warrior — are bred for cooler climates from Santa Maria south along California’s coast.

    In general, all the new berries are large, flavorful, firm and disease-resistant. Victor and Valiant perform well in organic systems. Moxie and Royal Royce are showing yield increases of as much as 29 percent over previous UC varieties.

    You can find full descriptions of each variety on the UC Davis Office of Research website.

    Fewer ‘runners,’ less labor 

    UC Davis Royal Royce strawberry variety is one of the five new strawberry varieties from the Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis that will help farmers manage diseases, control cost and produce plenty of large, robust berries using less water, fertilizer and pesticides. These are the strawberries in Salinas on Monday, July 1, 2019.

    Two new varieties — Moxie and Royal Royce — could save farmers up to $5,000 an acre in labor costs because they sprout fewer runners, the vine-like fingers that strawberries send out that produce roots and develop into duplicate plants. Runners are handy when propagating strawberries, but farmers have to continually cut them back during the growing season to help plants conserve energy for producing big, sweet berries.

    “Runners are a huge expense,” explained Greg France, a longtime California Strawberry Commissioner and family farmer from Santa Maria. “We have to hire labor throughout the season just to cut back the runners. These new varieties will be a big deal for us.”

    Disease-resistant berries will also reduce production costs and improve environmental sustainability, farmers say.

    Strawberries are especially vulnerable to soil-borne pathogens, which can destroy an entire crop. Since the 1960s, many strawberry growers have depended on fumigants like methyl bromide to fight disease, but methyl bromide and other fumigants are being phased out by the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Since Knapp took over the strawberry breeding program in 2015, he and his team have been working to develop varieties with genetic resistance to disease to reduce the need for fumigants. All five of the new varieties will be less susceptible to a range of diseases, including Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt and Macrophomina.

    More Berries in the Pipeline 

    To create a beneficial variety, plant breeders cross plants with desired traits and select the best offspring over multiple generations. UC Davis strawberry breeders are continuing that work on test sites and farms along California’s “strawberry belt,” from Ventura to Watsonville, each with its own particular climate and crop management strategies.

    “Every farmer has his or her own recipe for growing the berries, which is good,” said Glenn Cole, breeder and field manager with the strawberry breeding program. “It helps us see how the crop performs in different environments.”

    The team anticipates releasing one or two additional varieties in early 2020 that can be planted in the summer and harvested in time for the winter holidays.

    A section where the UC Royal Royce  strawberries are grown on Monday, July 1, 2019 in Salinas, Calif. Five new strawberry varieties from the Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis will help farmers manage diseases, control cost and produce plenty of large, robust berries using less water, fertilizer and pesticides.

    In the meantime, farmers can buy the newest UC Davis varieties at nurseries starting this fall. Also, detailed data on how each variety performed throughout the breeding trials is available to everyone at the California Strawberry Commission website.

    “The great thing about UC Davis strawberry cultivars is they are available to all growers,” said strawberry farmer Dave Murray. “The world-class research on which these varieties are based benefits us all.”

  • Five Shades of Gray Mold Control in Strawberry: Evaluating Chemical, Organic Oil, Botanical, Bacterial, and Fungal Active Ingredients

    Botrytis fruit rot or gray mold, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is common fruit disease in California strawberries (Koike et al. 2018).  Botrytis cinerea has a wide host range infecting several commercially important crops including blueberry (Saito et al. 2016), grapes (Saito et al., 2019), and tomato (Breeze, 2019).  Fungal infection can cause flower or fruit rot.  Fruit can be infected directly or through a latent infection in the flowers.  Moist and cool conditions favor fungal infections and increased sugar content in the ripening fruit can also contribute to the disease development.  Initial symptoms of infection appear as brown lesions and a thick mat of gray conidia is characteristic symptom in the later stages of infection.  As chemical fungicides are primarily used for gray mold control, fungicide resistance is a common problem around the world (Panebianco et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2016; Stockwell et al., 2018; Weber and Hahn, 2019).  In strawberry, cultural control options such as removing diseased plant material or using cultivars with traits that can reduce gray mold infections may not be practical when the disease is widespread in the field or cultivar choice is made based on other factors.  Non-chemical control options are necessary to help reduce the risk of chemical fungicide resistance, prolong the life of available chemical fungicides, achieve desired disease control, and to maintain environmental health.  Although there are several botanical and microbial fungicides available for gray mold control, limited information is available on their efficacy in California strawberries.  A study was conducted in the spring of 2019 to evaluate the efficacy of several chemical, botanical, and microbial fungicides in certain combinations and rotations to help identify effective options for an integrated disease management strategy.

    Methodology

    Strawberry cultivar San Andreas was planted late November, 2018 and the study was conducted in April and May, 2019.  Each treatment had a 20′ long strawberry plot with two rows of plants replicated in a randomized complete block design.  Plots were maintained without any fungicidal applications until the study was initiated.  Table 1 contains the list of treatments, application rates and dates of application, and Table 2 contains the type of fungicide used and their mode of action.  Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae s.l. are California isolates of entomopathogenic fungi, isolated from an insect and a soil sample, respectively.  These fungi are pathogenic to a variety of arthropods and some strains are formulated as biopesticides for arthropod control.  However, earlier studies in California demonstrated that these fungi are also known to antagonize plant pathogens such as Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum Race 4 (Dara et al., 2016) and Macrophomina phaseolina (Dara et al., 2018) and reduce the disease severity.  To further evaluate their efficacy against B. cinerea, these two fungi were also included in this study alternating with two chemical fungicides.

    Treatments were applied with a CO2-pressurized backpack sprayer using 66.5 gpa spray volume.  Five days before the first spray application and 3 days after each application, all ripe fruit were harvested from each plot and incubated at the room temperature in vented plastic containers.  The level of gray mold on fruit from each plot was rated using a 0 to 4 scale (where 0=no disease, 1=1-25% fruit with fungal infection, 2=26-50% infection, 3=51-75%, and 4=76-100%) 3 and 5 days after each harvest (DAH).  Due to the rains, fruit could not be harvested after the 3rd spray application for disease rating, but was harvested and discarded after the rains to avoid cross infection for the following week’s harvest.  Data were analyzed using analysis of variance using Statistix software and significant means were separated using Least Significant Difference separation test.

    Results

    Gray mold occurred at low to moderate levels during the study period.  Along with B. cinerea, there were a few instances of minor fungal infections from Rhizopus spp. (Rhizopus fruit rot) and Mucor spp. (Mucor fruit rot).  Pre-treatment disease ratings were statistically not significant (P = 0.6197 and 0.5741) 3 and 5 DAH.  While the chemical standard treatment with the rotation of Captan, Merivon, Switch, and Pristine (treatment 2) appeared to result in the lowest disease rating throughout the observation period, treatments 3 and 5 after the 1st spray application, treatments 5 and 11 along with 3, 4 and 6 after the 2nd spray application, and treatments 3 and 5 along with 11 after the 4thspray application also had similar disease control at 3 DAH.  When disease at 5 DAH was compared, the lowest rating was seen in treatment 2 after the 1st and 2nd spray applications, and treatments 2, 3, and 11 after the 4th application.  Several other treatments also provided statistically similar control during these days.

    Discussion

    This study compared a variety of registered and developmental products along with two entomopathogenic fungi in managing B. cinerea.  Considering the fungicide resistance problem in B. cinerea in multiple crops, having multiple non-chemical control options is very important to achieve desirable control with integrated disease management strategies.  Since the active ingredients in the botanical and bacterial fungicides used in this study are not public, discuss will be limited on their modes of action and efficacy at this point.  Similarly, the active ingredient of WXF-17001 is also not known, however, an earlier study by Calvo-Garrido et al. (2014) demonstrated that a fatty acid-based natural product reduced B. cinerea conidial germination by 54% and disease severity in grapes by 96% compared to untreated control.  The product used by Calvo-Garrido et al. (2014) is thought to be fungistatic and reduce the postharvest respiratory activity and ethylene production in fruits.

    While chemical fungicides have a specific mode of action, biological and other products act in multiple manners either directly antagonizing the plant pathogen or by triggering the plant defenses.  For example, amending the potting medium with biochar resulted in induced systemic resistance in tomato and reduced B. cinerea severity by 50% (Mehari et al., 2015).  Luna et al. (2016) also showed that application of β-aminobutyric acid and jasmonic acid promoted seed germination and long-term resistance to B. cinerea in tomato.  Burkholderia phytofirmans, beneficial endophytic bacterium, offered protection against B. cinerea in grapes by mobilizing carbon resources (callose deposition), triggering plant immune system (hydrogen peroxide production and priming of defense genese), and through antifungal activity (Miotto-Vilanova et al. 2016).  Similarly, entomopathogenic fungi such as B. bassiana are also known to induce systemic resistance against plant pathogens (Griffin et al. 2006).  Compared to other options evaluated in the study, entomopathogenic fungi have an advantage of controlling both arthropod pests and diseases, while also having plant growth promoting effect (Dara et al. 2017).

    Rotating fungicides with different mode of actions reduces the risk of resistance development and using some combinations will also maintain control efficacy.  This study provided the efficacy of multiple control options and their combinations and rotations for B. cinerea.  This is also the first study demonstrating the efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi against B. cinerea in strawberry.

    By Surendra K. Dara

  • Polyploidy – or how do we get seedless fruit?

    Having an odd number of chromosomes can produce sterile – and seedless fruit.

    Spitting out watermelon seeds can be a summertime rite of passage for some folks. Others like their watermelons seedless. How did those seedless watermelons (and other plants) come about? The May 7th Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains the topic of polyploidy.

    “Plants can have multiple sets of chromosomes, which is called polyploidy. Many of your favorite fruits and vegetables are polyploids,” says blogger and plant scientist, Christine Bradish, Ashland, Inc. “Polyploidy can occur naturally, where wild species ‘add together’ their DNA.  Two good examples of this are wheat and strawberries.”

    But, plant breeders can also develop work to develop crops without seeds – like seedless watermelons. Even bananas are seedless.

    “Polyploidy is one more tool that scientists can use to learn about the genetics of crop plants,” says Bradish. To read the complete blog, visit Sustainable, Secure Food at https://sustainable-secure-food-blog.com/2019/05/07/polyploidy-or-how-do-we-get-seedless-fruit