Causes of Malformed Strawberries

Malformed strawberries are a significant annoyance to a strawberry grower. The gardener has spent many long hours researching the appropriate strawberry variety for his climate and location, ordering the plants, carefully planting them, watering them, caring for them, and watching them grow. Why does he do this? For a bountiful harvest, of course!

Anything that threatens that harvest is a menace to the gardener. There are numerous agents that can cause a strawberry harvest to consist of strawberries that contain significant deformations or damage. The most common causes are:

1. The tarnished plant bug. These insects inject a toxin into new fruit while they are in their nymph stage. Once injected, the berry stops developing or growing below the injection site. The result is a half-formed strawberry with a dense pack of brown, non-viable seeds at the tip. Completely unappealing.

2. Mites. An infestation of various types of mites will result in fruit damage. Fissured and scarred strawberries are likely the result of feeding by some sundry insect characters.

3. Pollination problems. Inadequate pollination can result in small, malformed fruit. Extremely high temperatures can also cause problems during strawberry formation due to the heat’s effects on pollen. With temperatures that are too high, the pollen itself is devitalized. This causes poor pollination.

4. Climate problems. Strawberries are found in the wild. But, the wild strawberries are not the same as the hybrid and highly refined strawberry varieties that most gardeners grow these days. Strawberry cultivars are now bred specifically for different climactic regions. Growing strawberries that were intended to be grown in the north in southern regions can result in a deformation that makes an individual strawberry look like several strawberries fused together with multiple points.

Source by Blane Tarr