Strawberry plant Disease

[digon]

Over the winter I planted up another 42 barerooted strawberry runners. They all looked very healthy with masses of roots.
Now however 2 -3 months on all but ten have died.
1st to go where 12 of 12 Christine most of which didn't last more than a couple of weeks, then 15 of 15 Gariguette which seemed to be thriving started to turn there toes up. Now the Mara des Bois seem to be failing with 5 of 15 already dead and more looking sick.
The rest of the bed (90 odd 1st year plants) looks fine so far.

Does anybody have any ideas what's affecting them and is there anything I can do to stop it spreading.

Dave

[Two_Sheds]

I don't know how experienced you are with strawbs? I'm just guessing here: did you plant the crown too deep and it rotted?
Did you plant them into cold wet soil? Again, might well cause rotting

[FB.]

As above.
Also.....
Did you keep them indoors before planting, so they lost their cold-hardiness?

[digon]

Thanks for the replies.
I did keep the crowns above ground but I thought at the time they looked too wet. The rows are ridged up about 10" but I used a bulb planter and planted each one in a 2" core of MPC which may have acted as a sump. The leaves went brown from the edges in and there was also bite? marks on quite a few. I put open ended cloches over the rows about two months ago, when they first started dyeing, in an attempt to dry them out. Maybe the damage was already done by then.
I have scoured them looking for pests and found none. I have also dug up the dead ones and searched the roots (which still look in great condition) for bugs. I then washed them thoroughly in a bucket of water before potting them up in 4" pots of MPC in the hope they might come back. They've been in the greenhouse for a week but no signs of life yet.

Dave

[womble]

Were they in a clean bed that hasn't had strawberries in it for a few years?

[digon]

The bed was created at the beginning of September last year and has never had strawbs in it nor has the rest of the garden for the 10 years I've been there. The other strawbs came from runners I propagated from my hanging basket plants last year. They are all planted in the same way in the same bed only difference is they where a couple of months earlier. So far I've only lost 2 out of 90 ish of those.
My main concern is will it carry on and spread to the rest of the bed. Also if I replace the dead ones in the same rows will they be likely to suffer the same fate?

Dave

[womble]

I must admit I wouldn't have put them in the MPC core that you did.

I would guess that it's a water based problem, too much or too little, or something in the bed they didn't like. Too much manure or fertiliser?

[digon]

The bulb planter seemed like a good idea at the time.
This is my first year planting in the ground and apart from last years container growing I am very much a novice at growing anything.
The only fertiliser the ground has seen, probably in the last thirty years, is the handful of growmore I added per bucket of mpc when I planted the strawbs.
Hopefully it is a water problem and if I replant without the mpc the ridge and furrows I have will help stop them sitting in water.

Dave.

[Two_Sheds]

They can take drought, so really hold back on the water. My neighbour's strawbs weren't watered at all last July during our heatwave. The top growth seemed to die, but the roots were fine and they all came back OK

[womble]

If you want to replant, forget the bulb planter and plant with a trowel without compost. Spread the roots out in the soil as much as possible, water and forget. I don't think you will have any more problems, but if you do, try another bed for strawberries.

[northepaul]

Are you sure they were dead and had not just died back over winter?

[digon]

Are you sure they were dead and had not just died back over winter?

I have re-planted most of them in pots in the greenhouse just in case they are not dead.
However some of the first ones to 'die back' before xmas where re-potted in mpc and are still sat in the greenhouse without leaves despite being kept fairly dry, so I don't hold out much hope.

Dave.

[Aberdeenplotter]

You mention that there were bite marks on a few. Vine weevil is extremely partial to strawberries!

[Two_Sheds]

Over the winter I planted up another 42 barerooted strawberry runners.

The leaves went brown from the edges in and there was also bite? marks on quite a few.

What shape/form did the bite marks take? I'd suspect slugs or snails, but only if it wasn't very cold

Vine weevil is extremely partial to strawberries!

It's not active over winter though?

[Aberdeenplotter]

What shape/form did the bite marks take? I'd suspect slugs or snails, but only if it wasn't very cold



It's not active over winter though?

I'd be for having a root about in the soil to check. The cold doesn't kill the little blighters.