Recent News
We are proud of our partnership with GleanSLO
Sep 1, 2023
A food rescue program of the San Luis Obispo (SLO) Food Bank, GleanSLO has been rescuing produce from local farms and backyards in SLO County for over 12 years. To date, the group has rescued over 2.8 million pounds of produce from local farms, orchards, backyards, and farmers’ markets that would have otherwise gone to waste. Donors with extra produce contact their team who will mobilize a group of volunteers to meet up and harvest the extra produce. This collected produce is donated to the SLO Food Bank and distributed via local programs and hunger relief networks to those in need throughout the local community.
Thank you for your amazing work, GleanSLO!
Learn more about GleanSLO @ slofoodbank.org/food-rescue
Test your strawberry anatomy skills, Part 2
Aug 29, 2023
Strawberries are not considered true berries by scientists. They are called "pseudocarps", and the part of a strawberry that we eat is actually the "receptacle", the part of the plant that produces the fruit (rather than the fruit itself).
A: PEDICEL or stem.
B: PITH. Spongy tissue in the center; less flavorful. The size of the pith varies by variety.
C: ACHENE. Most people think these are seeds, but actually they are the TRUE FRUIT of the strawberry, similar to a sunflower seed and its shell. A medium-sized strawberry has about 200 achenes.
D: CALYX. Also called the "cap", the calyx is made up of SEPALS which look like small leaves.
E: VASCULAR BUNDLE. This "string" of lighter-colored flesh connects the pith with an achene.
Watch our short video to learn more about strawberry plant anatomy!
https://youtu.be/qL_SpbZvwHA
Can bees be used to protect strawberry from Botrytis cinerea infection?
Aug 24, 2023
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could get bees to deliver an effective agent to strawberry flowers that would protect them from infection by Botrytis cinerea? Researchers in Sweden used bumblebees to pick up a biocontrol fungus (Aureobasidium pullulans) and deliver it to strawberry flowers, reducing Botrytis fruit rot by 45% and doubling the fruit’s shelf life.
That’s impressive, especially in light of our own results with the same biocontrol fungus where it showed no efficacy against Botrytis fruit rot under field conditions.
So, what’s going on?
Why such a big difference between their results and ours?
✭✭ Read more in our latest research blog post ✭✭
https://strawberrycenterblog.com/2023/08/24/botrytis-and-bees/
Center pathology team presents at annual APS meeting
Aug 22, 2023
Three members of our pathology team presented at the annual meeting of the American Phytopathological Society held on August 12-16 in Denver, Colorado.
✓ Cooper Calvin (MS student) presented a poster on 'Emerging diseases and abiotic disorders in California strawberries'; Delivered an update on Neopestalotiopsis rosae pathogenicity tests in the Small Fruit Disease Worker's Discussion; And competed in the quiz Diagnostic Bowl event (go Cooper!).
✓ Joseph Ramirez (incoming MS student) delivered a short presentation on Macrophomina and Verticillium cultivar trials in the Small Fruit Disease Worker's Discussion.
✓ Dr. Shashika Hewavitharana (pathology team leader) presented on 'The effect of wheat cover crop on charcoal rot in strawberry' on behalf of Cal Poly alum Mary Steele; She also moderated the 'Soilborne Disease Management' technical session.
Cal Poly Strawberry Center alum Dr. Scott Cosseboom, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland, presented a poster on 'Validation of two disease prediction models in Maryland wine grape vineyards for ripe rot caused by Colletotrichum spp.'. Alum Jack Koster, now a lecturer in the Biology & Chemistry Department at CSU-Monterey Bay, also attended along with six students from his department, all presenting posters.
Check out our Field Day 2023 recap video
Aug 18, 2023
Thank you to the California Strawberry Commission marketing team for producing another Field Day Recap video for this year's event. Take a peek for a visual tasting of the many educational and informative activities that occurred at Field Day 2023!
Watch video on YouTube
Which of the four main soilborne pathogens are most common in CA strawberry?
Aug 11, 2023
It’s widely accepted that there are four major diseases in California strawberry caused by these soilborne pathogens:
✔ Macrophomina root rot
✔ Fusarium wilt
✔ Verticillium wilt
✔ Phytophthora crown and root rot
❓What we did not know is which of these four pathogens are most common?
Learn more in our latest research blog post, authored by recent graduate Mary Steele, M.S., Cal Poly 2023.
https://strawberrycenterblog.com/2023/08/09/soilborne-pathogens-common-strawberry-fields-part-1/
Field Day 2023 a huge success!
Aug 10, 2023
Strawberry Center 7th Annual Field Day
Thursday • August 3, 2023
Over 430 strawberry growers, researchers and industry representatives gathered at the Strawberry Center for this year’s Field Day. Participants rotated through Automation, Entomology and Plant Pathology stations, hearing from Cal Poly students and scientists about the latest research taking place at the Strawberry Center. Topics ranged from the newest automation technology to predatory mites to soilborne pathogens of strawberry, and much more!
Field Day 2023 program booklet, handouts and sponsor fliers can be found on our Center website @ https://strawberry.calpoly.edu/field-day-2023-information-and-handouts
A BIG thank you to our Sponsors and In-Kind Donors! A special mention goes to Yara and Good Farms for sponsoring a delicious lunch, catered by Taco Man Express.
California Strawberries
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https://linktr.ee/cpstrawberrycenter
Center hosts tour for government relations specialists
Jul 18, 2023
The Strawberry Center recently hosted a group of government relations specialists from various campuses throughout the Cal State University system. Justin Wellner (Director of Government and Community Relations at Cal Poly) highlighted recent collaborative efforts between the Strawberry Center and the USDA.
Congratulations to our graduates!
Jul 14, 2023
Congratulations to our amazing student employees and Master students who officially graduated this past June! We couldn't be more proud of your hard work, dedication, and achievements.
We are so thankful that you could be a part of our team. Your contributions, creativity and drive has made us all very proud.
We wish you all the best in your endeavors, Class of 2023!
KCBX News Center reports on $1M USDA funding
Jul 12, 2023
Listen in as KCBX News Center discusses $1M USDA funding to help automate strawberry farming in California to assist labor.
KCBX-FM | NPR
July 5, 2023
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Strawberry Center and the United States Department of Agriculture’s research agency recently received a federal grant to focus on tools to help automate strawberry farming in California. The Strawberry Center’s goal is to use research and education to increase the sustainability of California’s strawberry industry.
Read/Listen to full story https://tinyurl.com/kcbx-2023
