Designing a Better Sprayer for Pesticide Application in Strawberries
Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Strawberry growers using conventional boom sprayers find it difficult to obtain good disease and insect control due to poor pesticide coverage on the undersides of leaves, on the lower leaves, and on the fruit when the strawberry plant is in full canopy. Inadequate crop protectant coverage results in higher levels of disease and insect activity translating to consumer rejection of poor quality fruit and lower overall profitability of the planting.
This project allowed an opportunity to work with strawberries: a high value crop with a low, 3-dimensional canopy. Strawberry diseases are a big concern for growers, so adequate spray coverage is important; better coverage would allow growers to make fewer applications of fungicides during the growing season.
Designing a Better Sprayer for Pesticide Application in Strawberries (pdf; 221KB)
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Upcoming Events
Hudson Valley Orchard Weed Management Meeting
June 25, 2025 : Hudson Valley Orchard Weed Management Meeting
Poughkeepsie, NY
At this meeting, we will discuss previous research on using mulch for weed management, including the benefits of stacking mulch treatments with an organic herbicide program. We will then discuss the treatments in our field trial, discuss results to date, and get initial reactions from the grower, while viewing the field trial. We will then discuss the other study objective, using a mechanical weeding system to replace contact herbicide applications, currently underway in the Champlain Valley.
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June 26, 2025 : Workshop: Controlling Listeria in Apple Packinghouses
Highland, NY
Join Cornell University Food Science experts, along with CCE ENYCHP specialists Dan Donahue and Elisabeth Hodgdon for a day-long intensive workshop on managing Listeria in apple packinghouse environments.
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Kinderhook, NY
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Hopewell Junction, NY
Join Heather Kase, CCE ENYCHP, and Anna Wallis, Cornell IPM, for seasonal updates on berry pest man-agement and IPM.