Among them is a strain from EcoScience Corp., in Longwood, Florida. In one test, yields from plants that she inoculated with the EcoScience formulation and then planted in chloropicrin-fumigated soil were equal to those from methyl bromide plots. Formidable Fungal Foe One of the worst soilborne enemies of strawberry plants is a fungus called Phytophthora. His approaches to fending off Phytophthora include evaluating strawberry varieties for strong natural resistance that could be bred into new commercial cultivars. An ARS plant pathologist at Davis, Browne is also testing fungicides to provide new and more detailed information about their effectiveness.
Some plants collapse from fungal infection early in the field tests.
Those which don't are monitored for their marketable yield. While powerful pathogens such as Phytophthora can clobber strawberry plants outright, slower-acting, stealthier microbes can't be ignored. But they can have dramatic effects on yields by damaging the fine roots that bring water and nutrients to plants. In nursery, greenhouse, and field tests, he has scrutinized more than a dozen different commercial strawberry cultivars for any signs of resistance to these microbes. In other work, Martin and University of California colleagues Krishna Subbarao and Steven T. Koike are finding out how strawberry pathogens fare if the crop is rotated with broccoli or Brussels sprouts.