The Pest Management Strategic Plan for Strawberries in VA, NC, SC, GA, and FL has been published. Growers can access the complete interactive document by using the link here.
PMSP Summary
This PMSP is for Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. In November 2023, twenty growers, University Extension Specialists, industry representatives, and USDA's Office of Pest Management Policy plant pathologists met in Charlotte, NC, to collect the PMSP data related to North Carolina and Virginia. In January 2024, thirty-eight additional growers, University Extension Specialists, and industry representatives met in Savannah, GA, to collect the PMSP data related to South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. This PMSP for strawberry production in the southeast of the U.S. was developed with the pooled data from these two workshop sessions. These states are all members of the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium (SRSFC).
The mission of the SRSFC is to develop collaborative efforts at various sites across the region between small fruit growers and grower organizations, industries and service organizations allied with and/or serving small fruit growers, agricultural extension programs and research stations working together to enhance the development of the small fruit industries in the region. The SRSFC University partners include Auburn University, University of Arkansas, University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State University, Clemson, University of Tennessee, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The southeast region includes two of the top three strawberry-producing states in the U.S. Florida ranks No. 2, producing about 16% of the nation's strawberries in more than 14,100 acres valued at $511 million dollars in 2023. Despite a substantial difference in production and acreage, North Carolina ranks No. 3 among the largest strawberry-producing states, with ~2,000 acres valued at $23.4 million and grown in all 100 counties (2023). The remaining states have a range of producing acres between 200 (VA) up to 700 (SC), mostly family-owned and dedicated to pick-your-own (PYO) systems. These continue to be a valuable source of income for small to medium size regional producers. Similar insect and mite pests challenge strawberry growers in the region.
However, pest management programs differ immensely throughout the region, especially in Florida, where more large-scale and industrialized production exists. Additionally, Florida is the only state in the region where the invasive pest, chilli thrips, has established and quickly became the most damaging pest in strawberries. These workshop sessions aimed to develop a comprehensive list of pests, biological control agents, and chemical and cultural control tactics used in the region. The priorities identified include 1) Regulatory: Retain chemistries valuable for insect and mite pests, as well as diseases; 2) Research: Develop/Identify resistant cultivars to Neopestalotiopsis; 3) Education: Develop early-detection tools to identify invasive thrips infestations in strawberry plantings outside Florida. Grower participation was vital to developing this document. With their contributions, we are presenting the current challenges and needs of the strawberry industry in the southeast region of the U.S.
Source: NC State Extension