Some of our strawberry plants have contracted leaf spot. I did a search online on disease control and what is recommended is removal of all affected plant material from the bed and burning it, a thorough weeding, but also a fungaside spray to keep disease at bay. We don't use any chemicals in our yard and I was wondering if anyone knows of an organic way to help treat the fungus. Any advice or links are greatly appreciated
Sulfur powder is about the only natural occuring defense of fungi. Not sure how feasable dusting with it would be in your area or how many plants you have. Has this condition just recently happened since the advent of fall? If so, my advice would be don't worry about it, spring will tell next year. Also, as with roses make sure your plants are not crowded or cramped by other plants and receive plenty of air flow.
Here's a great site from Ohio State University that has almost everything strawberry: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/fruitpathology/organic/strawberry/all-strawberries.html I say "almost" because they don't include a couple things that the University of California's Integrated Pest Management does mention. UC's IPM also mentions using drip irrigation and soil solarization. Drip irrigation will result in (among other benefits) having less water on leaves & that reduces fungal problems. Soil solarization tip: plant, then till in a cover crop of mustard before doing the solarization. Another good site, titled ORGANIC FUNGAL CONTROL: http://www.greenharvest.com.au/fact_sheets/fs_fungal.html They mention using seaweed spray. "Using seaweed as a foliar spray will provide your plants with trace elements they need to resist disease. Seaweed strengthens the plant cell walls and changes the pH of the leaf surface making it less attractive to the fungal spores. Spray every 2 to 3 weeks during peak periods for fungal disease." There is also a lot of good info on all sorts of subjects in Cornell University's "Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management" http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/resourceguide/index.php Peace, poor_old_dad
Thanks so much for info and links. We've already removed all diseased material from the bed and burned it but we'll definitly be trying out the seaweed spray as well. We live a two minute walk from the beach so finding seaweed shouldn't be a problem.
