By Clint Thompson
Florida strawberry production is as challenging as it has ever been. Dustin Grooms, with Fancy Farms in Plant City, Florida, outlined the obstacles that producers are faced with, as another planting season looms.
“We had a hard time selling fruit there last year, so that’s going to be a problem. The chilli thrips, we don’t have a cure for them yet. I think there’s new things in the toolbox that just came out recently. The disease pressure was really bad with the Neopestalotiopsis last year. It was devastating at times. It cost us a lot of money. We threw a lot of berries on the ground. We made the crop, just didn’t get to harvest it,” said Grooms.
“Each year has its own challenges. I would probably say in the 80s when some of those freezes came through, that was probably worse. We had citrus at the time, too, so it was real bad then. Each year does seem to be getting more challenging (though). Whether it’s a pest, whether it’s labor, finances, it’s all part of it.”
Neopestalotiopsis
Neopestalotiopsis has been a major concern ever since it was first discovered during the 2018-19 season across five farms in Florida. It was attributed to one nursery source in North Carolina. More than 20 farms experienced the disease during the 2019-20 season, and the disease was attributed to two nursery sources early in the season in North Carolina and Canada.
“We definitely get plants from multiple sources in multiple areas. We try not to put all of our eggs in one basket in case something happens,” Grooms said. “It could happen to any nursery. One year it seems like the best, and the next they get some kind of disease and it’s absolutely terrible.
“It’s a lot of luck with plants, and that’s something that we don’t control. We don’t know what we’re getting. That’s the cards we’re dealt, and we’re going to put our best foot forward and try to grow them out.”