as possible of the later runners should be 

 pulled or cut off. 



Weed Killers. There is much work being done 

 with weed killers at the various State Experi- 

 ment Stations. We recommend that you write 

 the Experiment Station in your state for their 

 recommendations for your locality. In the 

 right situation weed killers can be a tremen- 

 dous help but nobody should set an acreage 

 of plants too large to care for if the weed 

 killers do not do the job. We doubt if chem- 

 ical weed control is practical or necessary 

 on very small plots. 



Is Mulching Necessary? Mulching is neces- 

 sary for winter protection in all the northern 

 states and would be helpful in many fields 

 as far south as Virginia and Kentucky. In 

 addition to giving protection from cold, mulch- 

 ing helps to keep down weeds and grass, to 

 conserve soil moisture and to keep the fruit 

 bright and clean. 



The mulch should be applied in the fall 

 after frost and light freezes (25 to 28 degrees 

 F.) have occurred but before hard freezing 

 (20 degrees F. or lower). It should be re- 

 moved, at least partly, soon after growth 

 starts in the spring. 



Wheat straw and marsh grass are con- 

 sidered the best materials. Rye straw, pine 

 needles, coarse strawy manure and various 

 kinds of hay are satisfactory. In some sections 

 sawdust has been used with good results; 

 also buckwheat hulls. Use whatever you have 

 or can buy at a reasonable price. 



Will Irrigation Pay? If you have irrigation it 

 will certainly pay to use it for strawberries, 

 especially just before fruiting time. However, 

 irrigation is not mandatory. Most of the fine 

 berry crops in this country are produced on 

 good strawberry soil that holds moisture well 

 because stable manure and green crops have 

 been added or because of a high water table. 

 Evidence piles up that irrigation during the 

 danger hours will save a strawberry crop 

 from severe frost and freeze damage with 

 temperatures as low as 20 degrees F. during 

 bloom. 



Insects and Diseases. Red stele has become 

 serious in some areas. It is avoided by using 

 clean plants on uninfected soil. Red stele 

 can be largely overcome on infected soil by 

 using resistant varieties. (See page 30.) Ver- 

 ticillium wilt, a soil-borne fungus, has been 

 developing as a serious problem of straw- 

 berries within the past few years. Selection 

 of resistant varieties and not planting after 

 susceptible crops such as tomatoes, Irish 

 potatoes, eggplant and peppers, are the best 

 controls to date. (See page 30). 



Several insect pests and various fungi 

 attack strawberry plantings. These pages do 

 not permit a discussion of the various prob- 

 lems or their control. We recommend that you 



contact your local County Agent and your 

 State Experiment Station for whatever pam- 

 phlets and help you may get with these 

 problems. The U. S. Department of Agriculture 

 has two bulletins which are quite good. Far- 

 mers' Bulletin No. 2140 (Strawberry Diseases) 

 and Farmers' Bulletin No. 2184 (Strawberry 

 Insects) can be obtained from the Superin- 

 tendent of Documents, U. S. Government 

 Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C, for 

 15«^ and 104 respectively. 



Renewing Old Beds, Most commercial growers 

 pick one crop of strawberries and then destroy 

 the planting. Generally this is justified. How- 

 ever, when plantings are on good soil, free 

 from weeds with little insect or disease dam- 

 age, a second crop may be had economically. 

 To renew beds, don't plow away the old bed. 

 Cultivate middles, remove weeds and grasses 

 and possibly fertilize. On thickly set beds 

 remove some of the excess plants. Don't be 

 afraid of hurting the beds. We have used a 

 heavily weighted (100 lbs.) spike tooth har- 

 row very effectively. Train new runners to 

 any vacant places. Mostly the second crop 

 of berries is borne on the same plants that 

 produced the first crop. 



Odds and Ends. 



(1) A national conference on the strawberry 

 was held at Rutgers in January, 1963, with 

 nearly all the important research men in 

 the United States and Canada present. Sub- 

 jects covered included varieties, nutrition, 

 weed control, marketing, labor saving ma- 

 chinery, irrigation, planting problems and 

 control of insects and diseases. This confer- 

 ence presented a source of the most up to 

 date information available. Copies of the 

 proceedings are available at $2.50 each by 

 writing Norman F. Childers, Chairman, De- 

 partment of Horticulture and Forestry, Rut- 

 gers-The State University, New Brunswick, 

 N.J. 



(2) The use of chlorodane or aldrin to kill 

 ants, cutworms and grubworms is one of the 

 things that the small grower can do. It is 

 combined with the fertilizer for general appli- 

 cation before plants are set and applied at 

 the rate of about 10 lbs. per acre of the actual 

 material in the case of chlorodane. For further 

 information consult your local dealer. County 

 Agent, or write us. 



(3) Growing strawberries in barrels. The idea 

 of growing strawberries in barrels appeals 

 to those who love growing plants, especially 

 berry plants, but who have only limited space. 

 When tempted to try a berry barrel it should 

 be kept in mind that even if successful it is 

 not an economical way of growing berries. 

 Most of your satisfaction must come from the 

 beauty of the foliage, blooms and berries 

 rather than in the quantity and utility of the 

 berries themselves. For further information 

 write for our mimeographed sheet on this 

 subject. 



27 



