Strawberries and Caneberries

I've recently had a number of calls concerning an increasing amount of leaf blotch on strawberry. This makes sense, since we've had continuing rains and the subsequent lengthy periods of free moisture coupled with the warming weather ideal for propogation of this pathogen.

Here's a photo submitted by reader Ted Swartzbaugh down in Ventura county of something you don't see too often. Powdery mildew in raspberry which has advanced to the fruit, and if you look close you can even see evidence of the disease on the petiole.

The first ever UCCE Cost and Return study for primocane blackberries is now finished and available to all. https://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/en/current/commodity/blackberries/ I'm really proud to have been a part of this effort.

Pretty interesting conference on biological control cooking for March 5 in Santa Maria overseen by colleague Farm Advisor Surendra Dara. I was invited too, but had to decline because of conflicts.

Just thumbing through a mail order catalog from a high end retailer yesterday afternoon for a Valentine's Day gift (don't forget all that this day is also our big annual strawberry production research meeting in Watsonville!) for my one and only, when my eyes lit upon the arresting photo below.