Strawberry pest and disease screening
The CSL strawberry screening package is a unique service that gives you confidence in your planting material by checking for the most damaging pests and diseases of the crop.
Pests and diseases are a major limiting factor to the successful production of strawberries. Both yield and quality are lost, whilst the introduction of non-indigenous organisms could lead to the enforcement of statutory controls.
The screening package tests your sample for the following pests and diseases. Click the name of each test for more information about the testing procedure.
- Blackspot (Colletotrichum acutatum)*
- Red core (Phytophthora fragariae var. fragariae)*
- Crown rot (Phytophthora cactorum)
- Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae)
- Angular leaf spot (Xanthomonas fragarie)*
- Tarsonemid mite (Phytonemus pallidus)
- Stem and foliar nematodes (Ditylenchus dipsaci and Aphelenchoides spp.)
The test procedure was developed by CSL and is accredited by UKAS to ISO 17025. Petioles are treated with paraquat to encourage spore production from any underlying latent infection. This allows diagnosis using a serological (ELISA) technique.
Roots are chopped and tested by baiting with Fragaria vesca, a highly susceptible speciea. The roots of the bait plants are examined microscopically for the presence of the typical resting spores (oospores) of P. fragariae var. fragariae.
This test utilises a novel molecular technique (Taqman® PCR) developed at CSL to check for the presence of DNA of the pathogen.
Crown tissue is incubated at high humidity to encourage growth of Verticillium. Samples are then examined microscopically for diagnostic features of the pathogen. Confirmatory agar plating may sometimes be required.
Crown material is screened by immunoflouresence microscopy (IF). Positive results are confirmed by molecular techniques (Taqman® PCR) developed at CSL. Isolation will also be performed but as the pathogen is notoriously difficult to obtain in culture positive IF supported by positive PCR is considered to indicate the presence of the pathogen, even when the organism is not isolated.
The upper crown (including the growing point) is assessed macroscopically for typical symptoms and microscopically for the presence of mites. Smaller numbers of mites are detected by washing the plant material and examining the resultant washings
Chopped plant material is suspended in water to extract the nematodes, which are then examined microscopically to determine the species.
* EC quarantine listed organisms.
Processing time
All of the tests can be processed within 2-3 weeks with the exception of the Red core test, which takes 3-4 weeks to complete.
Sampling procedures
In any consignment consisting of more than 1000 plants the package requires 60 plants to be taken at random to provide enough material to ensure a 95% confidence level in detecting at least a 10% level of infection. We are able to carry out testing on material from anywhere in the world under our Plant Health licence.
All samples must be submitted with a sample submission form and the application for testing of strawberry plants form. For more information about how to submit samples, visit submitting your sample.
Please contact us if you would like to discuss any specific testing requirements you may have.
Price list
To obtain pricing information for the screening package please download the Plant Clinic price list 2008/09.
Quality assurance
CSL is accredited to the Quality Assurance standard ISO 9001 for the provision of scientific services in the areas of agriculture, food and the environment. Additionally, CSL has achieved the QS standard ISO 17025 for strawberry blackspot testing by ELISA.
Contact us
For more details about any aspect of CSL's strawberry screening package email the Plant Clinic on or call +44 (0)1904 462 324.