Strawberries at the Crossroads: Management of Soilborne Diseases in California Without Methyl Bromide

Strawberry production has historically been affected by soilborne diseases such as Verticillium wilt. This disease was a major limiting factor in strawberry production in California in the 1950s and was the main reason that preplant soil fumigation with methyl bromide (MB) was developed in the late 1950s. MB fumigation was so successful that over 90% of the commercial strawberry fruit production in California utilized this technique. However, MB was subsequently linked to ozone depletion, and its use was phased out in 2005. The California strawberry industry was awarded exemption to the full phase-out until 2016, when all MB use in strawberry fruit production was prohibited. MB use continues in strawberry nurseries under an exemption to prevent spread of nematodes and diseases on planting stock. This review examines the impact of the MB phase-out on the California strawberry industry and evaluates the outlook for the industry in the absence of one of the most effective tools for managing soilborne diseases. New soilborne diseases have emerged, and historically important soilborne diseases have reemerged. Registration of new fumigants has been difficult and replacement of MB with a new and effective alternative is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Thus, crop losses due to soilborne diseases are likely to increase. Host plant resistance to soilborne diseases has become a top priority for strawberry breeding programs, and cultivars are increasingly selected for their resistance to soilborne diseases. The intelligent integration of a variety of management tactics is necessary to sustain strawberry production in California.

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CRITICAL CHALLENGES FOR THE PHASE-OUT OF METHYL BROMIDE IN THE AUSTRALIAN STRAWBERRY INDUSTRY

Acta Horticulturae ◽

10.17660/actahortic.2014.1044.49 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 367-373 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

S.W. Mattner ◽

M. Milinkovic ◽

P.R. Merriman ◽

I.J. Porter

Keyword(s):

Methyl Bromide ◽

Strawberry Industry ◽

Phase Out

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Relationship between Trichoderma Soil Populations and Strawberry Fruit Production in Previously Fumigated Soils

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.38.7.1400 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 38 (7) ◽

pp. 1400-1402 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

B. de los Santos ◽

C. Barrau ◽

C. Blanco ◽

F. Arroyo ◽

M. Porras ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Methyl Bromide ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Soil Fumigation ◽

Soilborne Pathogens ◽

Fragaria Ananassa ◽

Strawberry Fruit ◽

Selective Media

Several preplant soil fumigation treatments were repeated over a period of three years on strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duchesne) crops, at two different places in the province of Huelva (southwestern Spain). The influence of these treatments on Trichoderma soil populations and on populations of soilborne pathogens was examined every year by isolating soil onto selective media. No strawberry pathogens were detected but Trichoderma soil populations increased each year after the treatment. Significant differences were noted between the treatments and also compared to the control. The largest populations were observed after treatments with methyl bromide and chloropicrin, and so resulting in a higher production. Chemical name used: trichloronitromethane (chloropicrin).

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Consumers and Intermediate Producers in the Phase-out of Agricultural and Industrial Ozone-Depleting Substances

10.1093/oso/9780190677725.003.0003 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Alexander Ovodenko

Keyword(s):

Methyl Bromide ◽

Consumer Preferences ◽

Market Competition ◽

Montreal Protocol ◽

Environmental Regime ◽

Consumer Markets ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Ozone Depleting Substances ◽

Phase Out ◽

The Impact

The chapter analyzes the impact of downstream consumer markets on environmental regime design by explaining why wealthy countries have successfully phased out industrial ozone-depleting substances (ODS) but not an agricultural pesticide known as methyl bromide under the Montreal Protocol, despite the 2005 phase-out deadline for that pesticide. Since the analysis focuses on the regulation of different sectors under the same treaty, it isolates the impact of markets without the threat of major confounding variables interfering with the conclusions. It emphasizes competitive pressures and the structure of intermediate producers in the industrial and agricultural markets employing ODS to explain why methyl bromide has been handled differently from industrial refrigerants. The findings illustrate the impacts of consumer preferences and market competition on the investments of fluoro-product companies and, in turn, on the policies of wealthy countries and rules in the ozone regime.

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Strawberry yield efficiency and its correlation with temperature and solar radiation

Horticultura Brasileira ◽

10.1590/s0102-05362013000100015 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 93-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Pedro Palencia ◽

Fátima Martínez ◽

Juan Jesús Medina ◽

José López-Medina

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Solar Radiation ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Cycle Duration ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Total Production ◽

Crop Cycle ◽

Early Production ◽

The Impact

The impact that future climatic conditions will have on agricultural productivity depends on the sensitivity to each environmental factor and relative changes in temperature, precipitation and UV-B radiation. The strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is a microclimatic crop cultivated almost worldwide and Spain is the world's second-largest strawberry producer after the USA. Strawberry production in Huelva has been affected by climate change in recent decades. Temperature and solar radiation are primary environmental factors controlling short-day strawberry plant growth and development. Temperature is a limiting factor in crop productivity. We assessed the effect of variations in temperature and solar radiation on strawberry production and crop cycle duration. The study was carried out in commercial strawberry fruit production fields in the province of Huelva (Spain's southwestern coast). Fresh plants of cv. Camarosa were cultivated from October to June. The resulting crop was recorded weekly in the production field: early and total strawberry productions (g/plant), were recorded from January to March and from January to May, respectively. Data revealed that between early production and temperature (R²= 0.86) and between early production and solar radiation (R²= 0.73) there was a linear relationship. However, total production and temperature (R²= 0.69) and total production and solar radiation (R²= 0.69) were related by a quadratic relationship. Our estimates suggest that strawberry production could be affected by climate change. Due to the relationship between yield and temperature, and between yield and solar radiation, climate change scenarios were found to result in reductions in crop cycle duration.

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169 NURSERY SOIL FUMIGATION TREATMENT, STOLON PRODUCTION, AND SUBSEQUENT GROWTH OF STRAWBERRY PLANTS IN CALIFORNIA

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.29.5.453b ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 453b-453

Author(s):

Kirk D. Larson

Keyword(s):

Experimental Design ◽

Disease Control ◽

Methyl Bromide ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Soil Fumigation ◽

Mother Plant ◽

Subsequent Growth ◽

Standard Soil ◽

Mother Plants ◽

Phase Out

Replant soil fumigation with mixtures of methyl bromide (MeBr) and chloropicrin (trichloronitromethane) is a standard practice for pest and disease control in fruit crop nurseries in California. The proposed phase-out of MeBr by the year 2001 requires that alternative soil sterilants be studied for nursery use. Therefore, on 5 April, 1993, three preplant soil treatments were applied to new strawberry ground: 1) MeBr/chloropicrin (67:33) at 392 kg/ha: 2) chloropicrin, a possible MeBr substitute. at 140 kg/ha: and 3) nonfumigation. The experimental design was a RCB: there were two plots (each 10′ × 15′) for each of two cultivars (`Chandler' and `Selva') for the 3 soil treatments in each of 3 blocks. Mother plants were planted 26 April, and plots were machine-harvested in October, 1993. All plants from each plot were uniformly graded, after which mean stolon yield per mother plant, mean crown diameters, and crown and root dry wts were determined. Cultivar effects and cultivar × treatment interactions were not observed, so data for the two cultivars were pooled. Stolon production per mother plant was greatest for trt 1 (18.56 stolons), intermediate for trt 2 (15.75 stolons), and least form 3 (7.89 stolons). For trt 3, crown dieters. and crown and root dry wts were reduced relative to those of trts 1 or 2. Stolons from all trts were planted in a fruit production field on 13 October, 1993. After two months, canopy diameters were greatest for plants from trt 1 (27.1 cm), intermediate for plants from trt 2 (26.2 cm) and least for plants from trt 3 (24.9 cm). The results indicate that, compared to standard soil fumigation with MeBr/chloropicrin. small, but significant, reductions in runner production and plant vigor can be expected following nursery soil fumigation with intermediate rates of chloropicrin.

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Spontaneous Autotetraploidy and Its Impact on Morphological Traits and Pollen Viability in Solanum aethiopicum

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.49.8.997 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 49 (8) ◽

pp. 997-1002 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hamidou F. Sakhanokho ◽

M. Nurul Islam-Faridi

Keyword(s):

Morphological Traits ◽

Pollen Viability ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Chromosome Counts ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Solanum Aethiopicum ◽

Cell Flow Cytometry ◽

The Impact ◽

First Time

We report for the first time the incidence of spontaneous autotetraploidy in Solanum aethiopicum (PI 636107). Stomatal dimensions and frequency, number of chloroplasts per guard cell, flow cytometry, and chromosome counts were used to differentiate the diploid plants from tetraploids. The impact of increased ploidy on pollen viability as assessed by in vitro germination and on selected morphological traits was evaluated. In vitro pollen germination was reduced in tetraploid plants, but no significant differences were found in fruit production per plant between diploid and tetraploid plants. Compared with the diploids, the tetraploid plants were significantly shorter and had wider leaves and smaller fruits; therefore, tetraploid S. aethiopicum plants can be valuable for future breeding programs, particularly those aiming to develop shorter, more compact plants. Moreover, some S. aethiopicum selections are grown for their edible leaves, so tetraploid plants producing large leaves would be desirable. Additionally, the availability of tetraploid S. aethiopicum could remove hybridization barriers caused by ploidy differences with other tetraploid Solanum species.

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Differences in the Anthocyanin Profile of Different Tissues of the Strawberry Fruit

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/proceedings2019036074 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 74

Author(s):

Hong ◽

Chen ◽

Netzel ◽

O’Hare

Keyword(s):

Anthocyanin Biosynthesis ◽

Anthocyanin Content ◽

Strawberry Fruit ◽

Potential Health ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Anthocyanin Profile ◽

Edible Tissues ◽

Strawberry Breeding ◽

Different Tissues

Strawberries are most commonly red in colour, which is largely due to the anthocyanin, pelargonidin-3-glucoside, a bioactive flavonoid with potential health benefits. Variation in the intensity of red colour across strawberry varieties, from a light pink to a deep cherry colour, is solely associated with a change in concentration of this single anthocyanin, rather than the synthesis of an anthocyanin with a different colour. In this study, the anthocyanin profiles of the two constituent edible tissues of strawberry fruit were determined. The main tissue of the strawberry consists of a swollen fleshy receptacle. The second tissue consists of the achenes, visible on the surface of the strawberry, with each achene consisting of a dry single-seeded fruit formed from a fertilised ovule. The current study showed that the anthocyanin profile of a strawberry achene is totally different from that of the receptacle. While red-coloured pelargonidin-3-glucoside is the main anthocyanin component (about 94%) in the receptacle, purple-coloured cyanidin-3-glucoside accounts for approximately 90% of the anthocyanin content in the achene. This would indicate that flavonoid 3’-hydroxylase (F3’H), the enzyme responsible for shifting anthocyanin biosynthesis towards cyanidin and away from pelargonidin, is functional in strawberry achene tissue, but not in the receptacle tissue. This may indicate that other factors, such as transcription factors, can modulate the anthocyanin profile of different strawberry tissues, rather than strawberries having a non-functional F3’H gene. However, the relevance of these findings for potential strawberry breeding programs and subsequently the nutritional quality of strawberry fruit needs to be investigated further.

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The impact of breeding on fruit production in warm climates of Brazil

Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura ◽

10.1590/s0100-29452009000200043 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 612-634 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Celso Valdevino Pommer ◽

Wilson Barbosa

Keyword(s):

Fruit Production ◽

Tropical Region ◽

Low Latitude ◽

Large Country ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Brazilian Savannah ◽

Low Latitudes ◽

Peach Breeding ◽

The Impact ◽

Warm Climates

Brazil is a very large country with a diverse climate. This fact allows a diversity of plants to grow ranging from tropical rainforest in the Amazon, passing through Atlantic Forest along the coast, the cerrados (Brazilian savannah) in the Central West region, and semi-arid area in the Northeast. Latitude ranges from 5º N to 33º S, with most of this territory in the tropical region. There are enough reasons to plant breeders devoting great amount of their effort to improve plants suitable for warm climates, though. Among fruit crops, results of breeder's work have been noticed in several species, especially on peaches, grapes, citrus, apples, persimmons, figs, pears and others not so common, such as acerola, guava, annonas (sour sop, sugar apple, atemoya, cherimoya) and passion fruit. Peach tree introduced at low latitude (22 ± 2ºS) requires climatic adaptation to subtropical conditions of low chilling. In Brazil, the first peach breeding program aiming adaptation of cultivars to different habitats was developed by Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC) beginning in the end of the 40's. Apple low chill requirement cultivars obtained in a South state, Paraná, are now been planted at low latitudes. Banana and pineapple breeding programs from Embrapa units along the country are successfully facing new sanitary problems. Petrolina/Juazeiro, in the Northeastern region (9ºS), is the main grape exporting region with more than 6,000 ha. Grape growing in the region is based in the so called "tropical" rootstocks released by IAC, namely: IAC 313 'Tropical', IAC 572 'Jales'. Recently, Embrapa Grape and Wine released tropical grape seedless cultivars that are changing table grape scenario in the country.

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Economics of fumigation in tomato production: the impact of methyl bromide phase-out on the Florida tomato industry

International Food and Agribusiness Management Review ◽

10.22434/ifamr2018.0074 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 589-600 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xiang Cao ◽

Zhengfei Guan ◽

Gary E. Vallad ◽

Feng Wu

Keyword(s):

Methyl Bromide ◽

Field Trials ◽

Montreal Protocol ◽

Production Costs ◽

Market Prices ◽

Tomato Production ◽

Soil Fumigant ◽

Cost Effective Treatment ◽

Phase Out ◽

The Impact

The Florida tomato industry is facing challenges of increased production costs and decreased yields resulting from the methyl bromide (MBr) phase-out under the Montreal Protocol for environmental concerns. MBr and several accepted alternative soil fumigant systems are analyzed in this study from an economic perspective. This article focuses on identifying optimal fumigant systems by analyzing the cost effectiveness and economic risk associated with MBr and several other commercially available soil fumigant systems using data collected from scientific field trials. The results obtained show that a 67:33 formulation of MBr: chloropicrin is the most cost-effective treatment, and no alternative fumigant systems investigated can substitute MBr cost-effectively in Florida tomato production. The analysis indicated that switching from MBr (67:33) to the new industry standard PicChlor 60 approximately resulted in a loss of $3,569 per acre in gross revenue and $1,656 per acre in profit using market prices in the 2013/14 season. Higher market prices would further increase the loss.

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