Strawberry Virus Alert
April 30, 2013 
Two strawberry viruses, in combination, are causing problems for Eastern strawberry growers. The viruses, strawberry mottle virus (SMoV) and strawberry mild yellow edge virus (SMYEV), have now been discovered in Pennsylvania, and growers are advised to check plants propagated from runner tips obtained from Nova Scotia.
Although this is the first U.S. experience with these virus problems on strawberries, SMYEV and SMoV are very common around the world, and often occur together and with other viruses. In fact, it may be that they only cause significant problems to strawberry growers when they occur together. Yield losses (probably when 100% of plants are infected) can be expected to range from 0% to 30%, and can differ among strawberry cultivars and also depending on which “strain” of each virus may be present. These viruses are usually only a problem in matted-row strawberry production, where plants are in the field for a much longer period of time and plantings are not destroyed at the end of each growing season. Heat treatment combined with meristem tip culture usually eliminate viruses from strawberry genetic material before tips are grown-out for plugs or bare root transplants.
For more information, read an update from Penn State Extension at http://extension.psu.edu/plants/tree-fruit/news/2013/strawberry-virus-alert.
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