Recent News
Shell Beach Elementary 6th grade class from visits Strawberry Center
May 7, 2024
Led by teacher Danielle Blauer, other teachers and parent chaperones, over 50 sixth graders from Shell Beach Elementary School visited the Strawberry Center. Field Technician Lawson Orradre and Research Manager Kyle Blauer led the tour, which included a trip to our fields along with basic descriptions of strawberry growing, breeding and reproduction. The students were especially primed and excited about these topics as they are currently learning about inheritance and genetic variation in their science program. The tour culminated with a fun opportunity to pick fresh strawberries and fill as many clamshells as the students could carry back to the bus! According to Mrs. Blauer, “our students had a GREAT time on this trip and we are hoping to come back again next spring!”.
Dr. Holmes kicks off PLSC 450 seminar series
May 2, 2024
Strawberry Center Director Gerald Holmes kicked off his Spring 2024 "PLSC 450: Current Issues in the Strawberry Industry" seminar series course with an overview lecture about strawberry production practices. His presentation included comprehensive production process information as well as several real-world field videos that he has captured over the years.
In this course, students truly receive a front row seat for the strawberry industry by listening to seasoned professionals deliver diverse lectures. According to Gerald, “I’ve been teaching this course for 8 years. The recorded lectures now make a substantial library of topics and speakers that cover a broad range of subjects of great interest in California strawberry production. And our students have the chance to interact directly with industry experts.”
View Gerald's full presentation on our Center YouTube channel @ https://youtu.be/on_oMmUZq4k
Center hosts high school students for tour
Apr 30, 2024
We had the pleasure of hosting Center student alum Beth Noel's Introduction to Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources class (Frontier High, Bakersfield, CA) for a Strawberry Center tour! The students were led by Field Technician Lawson Orradre and Research Associate Sam Simard. Students learned about the farming and research operations at the Strawberry Center, and even got to pick their own clamshell of strawberries. This tour concluded their Plant and Food Unit, giving students a firsthand understanding of plant growth, and the journey of food from farm to store.
Blog article outlines survey of Santa Maria growing region for four major soilborne pathogens
Apr 25, 2024
In 2021, an effort began to determine which of the four major soilborne pathogens of strawberry are most common in the three major growing districts of California: Watsonville-Salinas (WS), Santa Maria (SM), and Oxnard. WS was surveyed in 2021 (presented in a previous blog article) and SM was surveyed in 2022. While the WS district is comprised only of fall-planted strawberry fields, SM has both fall- and summer-planted fields.
Read full article by former Center Master's student Mary Steele @ https://strawberrycenterblog.com/2024/04/25/which-soilborne-pathogens-are-most-common-in-california-strawberry-fields-part-2-santa-maria-district/
Mary is currently a Plant Pathology Ph.D. student at Washington State University (Pullman, WA).
Subscribe to the Strawberry Center research blog @ https://strawberrycenterblog.com/subscribe/
Career Workshop held for students
Apr 23, 2024
We are grateful to Cal Poly CAFES Career Counselor Matt Parks for facilitating a career workshop for our Center students. The interactive workshop "Crafting Effective Resumes and Cover Letters" was held at the Strawberry Center on 16 April 2024 and drew several students. Matt presented valuable tips, strategies and insights for effective resume and cover letter preparation.
Thank you, Matt!
Latest blog post addresses Lygus management in strawberry
Apr 19, 2024
Lygus management needs a whole new class of tactics to strengthen the overall strategy. Everyone understands that regular monitoring, removing weed hosts, and having excellent spray coverage are key to success, but a common response heard is that “we NEED new chemistries.” One of these new developments is the Lygus sex pheromone. Since the early 2000s there have been researchers examining the pheromones in various Lygus species......
Read full blog article by Entomology Program Leader Mohammad Amir Aghaee @ https://strawberrycenterblog.com/2024/04/19/the-lygus-question/
Subscribe to the Strawberry Center research blog @ https://strawberrycenterblog.com/subscribe/
Botrytis fungicide efficacy study underway
Apr 17, 2024
These strawberries are part of our Botrytis fungicide efficacy study. For the postharvest evaluation, fruit is stored at room temperature and evaluated at 2-day intervals over a 10-day period. Fruit with visible fungal growth are recorded as decayed and discarded from the tray to avoid fruit-to-fruit spread of disease. With all the rain this year, it's turning out to be a great study. Results will be presented at our upcoming Field Day on August 8, 2024. Stay tuned for more!
Another fruitful year at the Cal Poly Open House!
Apr 15, 2024
Despite the rainy weather, the Strawberry Center's booth attracted a steady flow of visitors. Our table featured a prize spin wheel as well as informative plant pathology and entomology samples for display. Our amazing student employees and staff members had a great time chatting with prospective students and their families about all the exciting opportunities and resources available at the Center.
Come visit us at Open House
Apr 12, 2024
Cal Poly’s 31st annual Open House is upon us! This annual event happens this weekend and serves to welcome new students, families, and supporters to learn about student life at Cal Poly. The Strawberry Center team can’t wait for you to come by on Saturday and visit our booth located in the Cal Poly Farm Shop! Stop by and talk with some of our staff and student employees about our mission and activities as well as agriculture student internship opportunities. And don't forget to spin our prize-wheel to win a fun surprise.
We hope to see you there!
Pathology group attends joint APS-Soil-borne Plant Pathogens Conference
Apr 4, 2024
The Cal Poly Strawberry Center was well represented at the joint APS-Pacific Division meeting and the 69th Annual Soil-borne Plant Pathogens Conference, held in late March at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR.
In attendance were:
• Yu-Chen Wang (Cal Poly alumnus and current Plant Pathology Farm Advisor, UCCE)
• Dr. Shashika Hewavitharana (Strawberry Center, Pathology Program Leader) moderated the Student Presentation Session of the Soil-borne Pathogens Conference
• Cooper Calvin (current Cal Poly M.S. student) won a travel award from the APS-Pacific Division and gave an oral presentation on Macrophomina root rot management
• Mary Steele (Cal Poly alumnus and current Ph.D. student at Washington State University) won a travel award from the Soil-borne Pathogens Conference and gave an oral presentation on wheat cover cropping impacts on soil microbiome and Macrophomina root rot
• Celeste Gonzalez Chavez (Cal Poly alumnus and current M.S. student at UC Davis) won 3rd place in the APS-Pacific Division student poster presentation on fungal species associated with branch canker and dieback disease in pear
• Joseph Ramirez (current Cal Poly M.S. student) gave an oral presentation on host resistance to Macrophomina root rot and Verticillium wilt.
Congrats all!
