While working at the NCGR in Corvallis, OR where the national collection of
Fragaria is held, I learned that there are a certain number of varieties
that have that condition. It's an inherited trait, usually just known as
spring yellows, and while it looks like a virus, it isn't. The plants grow
out of it as the season progresses. Breeders try to avoid lines that carry
the trait, but it slips in now and then anyway.
-Lon Rombough
on 5/17/02 11:05 AM, Doreen Howard at doreenh@ticon.net wrote:
> I have a bed of second-year Ozark Beauty, Tribute and Tri-Star
> strawberries. In their first summer, they produced nicely and put out
> plenty of runners to fill in beds. Early this spring, I spread a balanced
> granular organic fertilizer from Espoma over the bed. As the plants woke up
> and put out leaves, I noticed in spots that some of the big leaves were
> yellowish with green veins. I foliar fed the bed with Gionna's organic
> spray C-Spray and followed up with an application of blood meal. Those
> leaves are still pale green with dark green veins. Note that these leaves
> are only about 3 or 4 percent of the total leaves on the strawberry plants.
> The plants are huge and loaded with flowers. I am perplexed why I cannot
> get rid of the pale, veined leaves, though. Any suggestions? One other
> note, other temperatures have been about 10 degrees below normal, and we are
> still getting frosts in mid-May.
> Doreen Howard
> Janesville, WI
> USDA Zone 4b
>