Massachusetts Integrated Pest Management Guidelines for Strawberry 



Crops must accumulate 228 IPM Practice Points, or 70% of a possible 325. [Points 

 for practices which are clearly inappropriate for a given farm do not count toward 

 the total, e.g., if a farm has no history of red stele, disease-resistant cultivars are 

 inappropriate, thus the total points possible are 320, and 224 (70%) are required.] 

 Points must be earned in each category. Partial credit can be earned for a given 

 practice by completing a percentage of that practice. Practices printed in bold are 

 considered essential IPM practices. 



NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT AND CULTURAL PRACTICES 



1. A complete leaf tissue analysis was performed in the previous 

 year and fertilizer applications in the current year were guided by 



the results of that analysis. 5 pts 



2. A complete leaf tissue analysis is performed in the current year. 5 pts 



3. Land that was in strawberries in previous year, but where 

 the planting was terminated, is now in a planned rotation 

 out of strawberries (1 year is strongly recommended; 5 years 



out of strawberries is recommended, where possible). 10 pts 



4. Strawberries are mulched with weed-free, biodegradable 



mulch (e.g., straw) for winter protection. 10 pts 



5. Mulch layer is maintained within the row (bare spots 

 between plants) and between rows in bearing beds from 

 early spring (when it is raked off the top of the row) 

 until renovation to suppress weeds and prevent splashing 



of water from rain or irrigation. 10 pts 



6. To optimize air drainage and circulation, planting pattern is in the 

 form of a narrow matted or ribbon row. Canopy width does not 



exceed 2 ft. Rows are planted a minimum of 4 ft apart on center. 15 pts 



7. At bed renovation, leaves that are mowed are removed from the 



field to reduce disease inoculum. 5 pts 



PESTICIDES AND PESTICIDE RECORDS 



Only pesticides registered in the state and approved for the target pest and crop will be used. 

 Records of pesticide applications including date, field identification, targeted pest, pesticide 

 name and EPA number, formulation, rate, and number of acres treated are maintained. 



1. Insecticide sprayer is calibrated at the start of the season. 10 pts 



2. Herbicide sprayer is calibrated at the start of the season. 10 pts 



DISEASE MANAGEMENT 



1. Where history of red stele, Verticillium wilt, or leaf diseases 

 warrants, cultivars which have tolerance or resistance to the 

 appropriate disease are used. 5 pts 



18 Fruit Notes, Fall, 1992 



