Why strawberries do not develop and what to do about it?
Strawberries are undoubtedly a delicious berry that has long won the hearts of many people in Russia. Therefore, it is not surprising that the number of gardeners who decide to plant them in their beds is increasing every year. At first glance, strawberries are an unpretentious plant capable of growing in almost any conditions, but this is not at all the case. The problems of waiting people who decide to grow strawberries will be discussed in this article.
Reasons for the poor development of strawberries
There are several main reasons why strawberries do not develop. Usually you can recognize them by the appearance of the berries and the bush. Having recognized the problem, you must immediately begin to eliminate it, otherwise you risk losing not only the entire crop, but also the bushes themselves. Let's take a look at each of the problems individually, as well as what needs to be done to fix them.
Lack of space and nutrients
In the process of aging, strawberries grow incredibly quickly and increase in size. Therefore, the land on which it grows ceases to cope with providing it with the substances necessary for growth.
Old strawberry bushes must be propagated and transplanted to a new place. This can be done in two ways: by dividing the horns or growing rosettes. You can understand that it is time to transplant a berry bush by reducing the yield, the appearance of dry tendrils on its top and the fact that the berry is getting smaller.
Boron deficiency
Boron deficiency is a problem faced by many strawberry growers.
The main sign of this is the deformation of the berries. Elongated stripes appear on them, similar to deep scars, and the berries themselves take on an extremely unnatural shape. In addition, you can recognize the problem by the leaves. A yellow border appears along their edges, and the leaves themselves begin to take on a twisted shape. It also happens that plants wither after flowering.
To fix the problem, the bushes are treated with special tools like Folirus Bor. Such substances do not belong to pesticides and for the most part are not harmful to humans, and therefore they can be processed right during the fruiting period.
Bed bug
The appearance of a blind bug in your garden is the third reason for poor berry growth. This insect lays its eggs when the strawberries are in bloom, after which the larvae appear from them, which begin to feed on the strawberries.
You can understand that your garden was attacked by bed bugs by the specific shape of the berries, which is called “cat's face” in the common people. The upper half of the berry looks unchanged, while the lower half seems to be growing inward. Another sign is the appearance of large brown bugs on your strawberries during their flowering period.
The best way to get rid of bedbugs is, of course, insecticide treatment. But it can only be carried out before the strawberries begin to bloom, otherwise the insecticide will scare away beneficial insects that pollinate strawberries, and then the crop will still be lost. And, of course, in no case should strawberries be sprayed during the fruit ripening period, there will be little sense from this, since the eggs have long been inside, and eating berries after that is dangerous to health.
If you do not process the strawberries before they bloom, you can always get rid of the bugs by hand - they are not so numerous.
Freezing
If the winter turned out to be harsh, and the gardener did not take care to cover the strawberries, then it may happen that the crop will be lost due to the freezing of the bushes. In this case, the berry usually simply does not ripen and remains small and green.
To check this, you need to study the receptacle. If the flower in the center is dark, then this means that it has suffered, and the greater the darkening, the greater the damage.
This can be corrected by introducing funds to strengthen the immunity of plants. However, this does not give one hundred percent certainty that the flowers will not wither after flowering. It's always best to prepare ahead of time to deal with problems.
Be sure to cover strawberries for the winter, especially young bushes, and do not neglect the use of immunity products as a preventive measure.
drying out
Due to the strong temperature contrast in our country, along with the freezing of strawberries, there is a problem of its drying, the main symptom of which is, of course, dry leaves and stems.
Strawberries love sunlight but dislike high temperatures. The optimum temperature for it is considered to be 21 degrees. Do not forget to water the strawberries in a timely manner. If the temperature is near the recommended, then it should be watered every two to three days, and if it is higher, then every day.
But you need to be careful when watering, try not to pour strawberries. It is curious that when flooded, the strawberry roots begin to rot, and its upper part dries up, as if from a lack of moisture.
late blight
Late blight (skin rot) is a dangerous disease of plants, as a result of which the fruits dry out and turn brown. Actually, this is its main feature.
It is impossible to save the affected bushes, they will have to be removed. The strawberry plantation will need to be moved to another place and not planted here for 4-5 years. It would be best to plant cabbage in this place, since it not only does not succumb to the disease, but also helps to get rid of it faster.
For information on how to grow large strawberries, see the video below.