Recently, the UW Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic and the UW Fruit Crops Pathology lab confirmed the presence of Neopestalotiopsis sp. associated with diseased strawberry crown and root tissues. This is the first report of this pathogen in Wisconsin strawberries. The pathogen was first detected in Florida in 2017 and has since been reported in several states in the US and Canada.

Neopestalotiopsis leaf spot and fruit rot is an emerging fungal disease of strawberry in North America. Symptoms can occur on most tissue types and often resembles other fungal diseases of strawberry. To learn more about this disease, see the article in Wisconsin Fruit News published on April 29 here.

If you are concerned that you may be dealing with Neopestalotiopsis in your strawberries, submit samples for diagnosis to the UW Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic. Since symptoms of this disease can be easily confused with other strawberry diseases it is recommended that you submit a physical plant sample for diagnosis, as pictures may not be sufficient to identify a new disease. Information on sample submission to the UW Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic can be found below.

Sample Submission: https://pddc.wisc.edu/sample-collection-and-submission/

This article was posted in Disease and tagged disease, Fruit Rot, Leslie Holland, Neopestalotiopsis, Neopestalotiopsis Leaf Spot, Strawberries.