Strawberries

Podcasts

Crop Basics

This episode was recorded on March 2, 2022. In this podcast episode, we discussed basic strawberry plant physiology, production systems, and critical issues to be assessed to decide if strawberry production is a good fit for your small and diversified farm.

 

This episode was recorded on June 1, 2022. This episode features Anya Osatuke and Adrienne Held. Anya is a berry specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Anya discussed her research on factors affecting strawberry quality. Adrienne is the owner of Holly Berry Farm in Santa Claus, Indiana. Adrienne shared her experience and what she has learned to run a small-scale, diversified farming business with strawberries.

Matted-Row Production

This episode was recorded on April 6, 2022. This podcast episode features Dr. Bruce Bordelon, who recently retired from Purdue University with 30+ years of experience with small fruits. Dr. Bruce Bordelon discussed spring activities for growing strawberries in a matted-row system. 

 

Plasticulture Production

This episode was recorded on August 10, 2022. It is about plasticulture strawberry production. Our special guests are Brad Bergefurd, former Horticulture Specialist at The Ohio State University, Calvin Beasley from Beasley Orchard in Danville, IN, and Danny Vanmeter from Vanmeter Family Farm in Clarkston, KY. We discussed important topics in plasticulture strawberry production, including site selection, beds, plastic mulch, fertility management, crop rotation, winter protection, cultivar selection, and more.  

 

High Tunnel Soil Production

This episode was recorded on October 18, 2022. In this episode, you will learn about the opportunities and limitations of a high-tunnel in-ground production system, major disease and insect pest concerns, and management options. Invited guests are Dr. Laura Ingwell, Entomology Extension Specialist from Purdue University, and Dr. Dan Egel, Extension Plant Pathologist from Purdue University.   

 

Substrate and Table-Top Production

This episode was recorded on September 7, 2022. In this podcast episode, you will learn the basics of substrate production and hear about two substrate strawberry production systems. Dr. Chieri Kubota and Mark Kroggel from The Ohio State University talk about root zone management in substrate production and introduce the greenhouse system. You can learn more about these topics on the Hydroponics website that Dr. Kubota shared in this episode. Richard Barnes is the owner of Tanglewood Berry Farm in Fort Wayne, IN. Richard discusses how Tanglewood Berry Farm grows strawberries in an elevated system with a lower level of environmental controls.

 

Videos

Alternative Systems for Strawberry Prodution: High Tunnel System

 

Publications

We regularly publish strawberry production related articles in Purdue Extension newsletters Vegetable Crops Hotline and Facts for Fancy Fruit.

 

Podcasts

Disease management

This episode was recorded on March 9 2023. Dr. Janna Beckerman joined this discussion to talk about Spring Diseases and Management. Our discussion focused on Anthracnose fruit rot and Botrytis fruit rot. Janna described the biology of the pathogens and provided cultural and fungicide recommendations for managing these diseases. Access presentation slides. The fungicide recommendations can be found at Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide. Additional recommendations can be found at Midwest Home Fruit Production Guide. 

This episode is also available on YouTube with a transcript.

 

This episode was recorded on May 4 2022. This episode focuses on Spring Disease Management and Freeze/Frost Guidance featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman, Plant Pathologist at Purdue University and Austin Pearson, a Climatologist from the Midwest Regional Climate Center. We discuss The Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA) (https://newa.cornell.edu/strawberry-diseases/), which is a weather-based tool for strawberry disease monitoring and the Midwest Regional Climate Center (MRCC) website (https://mrcc.purdue.edu/).

 

Weed and insect Management

This episode was recorded on July 6, 2022. We discussed insect pests and weed control during renovation in this episode. Our special guests are Drs. Stephen Meyers, Samantha Willden, and Mr. David Doud. Steve and Sam are researchers from Purdue. Steve is the weed scientist in the Horticulture department; Sam is a postdoc researcher in the entomology department. David is the owner of David Doud's Countyline Orchard in Wabash, IN, and has over 30 years of experience in growing strawberries in a matted row system. Here, you can find the pictures shared by David in the discussion. 

 

This episode was recorded on April 14, 2023. Kevin Schooley and Stephen Meyers joined the discussion to talk about weeds and weed management in matted-row and plasticulture strawberry production. Steve spoke about weeds commonly seen in strawberry fields and gave us a broad overview of the different types of herbicides. Kevin shared years of practical knowledge in controlling weeds using herbicides at the different crop stages. Steve and Kevin also discussed options for weed control using non-chemical approaches. Here is the supplier of the tool Kevin mentioned in the discussion. 

Publications

We regularly publish strawberry production related articles in Purdue Extension newsletters Vegetable Crops Hotline and Facts for Fancy Fruit.

 

RESOURCES