Strawberry plants - Orange roots?

d76v9dr6vm0dYVNA3Q · May 2023

Hello,

Firstly it is a pleasure to meet you all!

We have a metal raised bed in Scotland that has strawberries in them. They were not growing much at all this spring so I pulled them up with a view of replacing as they are two years old.

I was surprised to see what looked like orange rust at the base of the root. The plants were unusually easy to pull out the ground offering little resistance.

Just wondered if anyone knew what the orange stuff is?

I have left the raised bed empty and we can leave it empty for the season if required if it’s anything sinister.

If it’s nothing then we can put the bed back in action but wanted to check with some knowledge people if that’s ok?

Thank you for your time - Really appreciated.

Many Thanks,

Murray

Lyn · May 2023

Difficult to say without seeing it what the problem is, from what I see, it looks like it’s been attacked by Vine Weevil grubs, that’s chewed roots passed through.

Fairygirl · May 2023

That's a shame @d76v9dr6vm0dYVNA3Q. At that age, they should be raring to go and be giving you a good crop. You have a very smart set up there, so it would be a shame if you couldn't get some strawbs to go with it

As @Lyn says, it's quite hard to see the cause of the problem, but they look absolutely rotten. What's the drainage like in the containers? If it's poor, and the holes are clogged up, the soil mix could be waterlogged.
I grow all mine in containers or raised beds, as it helps with drainage, although I've largely given up on them because of the slugs or birds eating them. I don't even like then that much!

Lyn · May 2023

That gingery brown is typical of vine weevil damage, there may still be some in the roots, pull it to bits and see if you can find one, they’ve probably all matured and grown into adults now.

Or, they could be chafer grubs doing the damage. Very similar.

Strawberry plants - Orange roots?

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