Strawberry Powdery Mildew
Strawberry Powdery Mildew over-winters on plant tissue including living leaves. Infection can also come from neighbouring plantations, as the spores are blown on the wind.
The conditions that favour the fungus are cool or moderately warm temperatures with high humidity, together with dry Strawberry leaves.
The disease is first seen as white powdery mycelium on the undersides of the leaves. These leaves can often curl up at the edges and turn a purplish or reddy colour before spreading to the upper leaf surface.
Infection during flowering often produces deformed fruit or no fruit at all. If mature fruits become infected, they take on a seedy appearance often producing white spores on the base of the fruit.