Strawberries and Caneberries

It shouldn't be much of a surprise that we've picked up some cases of downy mildew, Peronospora sparsa, in a variety of proprietary blackberry up and down the Central Coast. In both cases, the blackberries were uncovered during the rainstorms of March.

I have a comment on a recent article in the Wall Street Journal concerning the recent hire of Kathleen Corradi as the rat czar in New York City to coordinate the control effort of the brown rat (also known as Norway rats or sewer rats) population there.

Longtime research collaborator and local berry breeder California Berry Cultivars is hosting a field day on Tuesday, May 9th at 10AM to announce the release of two day-neutral cultivars. Data will be presented on both releases. Lunch will be provided. Location: 181 Dairy Rd, Watsonville, CA.

And BOOM the berry season is underway just a few days after the last rain. Most of the flood water has receded, and the industry is on the move. I'm getting pulled right along with it and already initiated two trials in the past two days, with plenty more coming.

The recent flooding on the Central Coast has really put a lot of local strawberry growers in a bad position. Some fields have been underwater several days to a week or more, which has deprived plants of oxygen and sunlight needed for respiration and growth.