Problems in Strawberry Seedlings in Turkey

The study was carried out in order to reveal the problems encountered in strawberry seedlings in Turkey. As of 2015, the amount of certified strawberry transplants meets only 24% of the certified seedling amount required for total strawberry planting areas in Turkey. The remaining 76% is compensated with the transplants obtained from runners by the strawberry growers. The incidence of Fusarium spp. and Rhizoctonia spp. in transplants produced by growers is 3-4 times and 2-4.5 times that of certified frigo seedlings, respectively. Alternative fumigants to methyl bromide used in seedling production can not completely solve the problems in terms of soil-born fungal pathogens. Current Strawberry Seedling Certification procedure in our country should better be updated to comply with EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation) standards for certain disease agents recently detected in Turkey