System-Level IPM for Strawberries and Raspberries: Key Lessons from Berry Forum 2025 in Poland
Integrated pest management for strawberries and raspberries (IPM) is at the heart of current discussions on climate-resilient berry production in Central Europe. During Berry Forum 2025 in Ożarów Mazowiecki, Poland, where Cultiva EcoSolutions took part in the technical sessions, many conversations went beyond choosing individual fungicides or insecticides. The focus was on how to design systems that keep crops productive, maintain residue profiles within retailer expectations and manage risk under variable weather and demanding market conditions. For many farms, this means moving from a narrow focus on single products toward integrated pest management for strawberries that aligns with raspberry IPM and retailer residue expectations. Speakers and participants returned repeatedly to the idea that stable berry production depends on linking climate, substrate, microbiome and certification, rather than treating them as separate topics.
Historically, advisory and supplier discussions often centred on product lists and spray calendars. At Berry Forum 2025, there was also strong interest in what happens when growers step back and look at IPM as a system outcome. System-level IPM encourages a closer look at how decisions in irrigation, fertigation, pruning and tunnel ventilation either support or complicate plant protection. In the sessions, IPM was presented less as an add-on layer and more as the combined effect of hundreds of daily choices about how the crop and its environment are managed. When growers approach IPM in this way, conversations tend to become more strategic and less about simply adding one more product into the mix.
How Climate, Microclimate and Crop Architecture Shape Pest and Disease Pressure in Strawberry and Raspberry Production
Climate and microclimate are active drivers of pest and disease pressure in strawberries. In open field systems, periods of intense rainfall or heat can coincide with flowering and harvest, influencing infection cycles and fruit quality. In covered systems, plastic tunnels and greenhouses create microclimates where humidity, temperature and condensation can move quickly between favourable and unfavourable conditions for pathogens like grey mould. Crop architecture – row orientation, plant density, pruning practices and drip line placement – then determines how long leaves and flowers stay wet, how quickly tissues dry, and how effectively sprays can reach target surfaces.
If this interaction between climate, microclimate and canopy structure is not analysed carefully, a common response to rising pressure is to increase the number of treatments. Under tightening residue limits and retailer-specific protocols, this approach has clear limits. Additional fungicide applications late in the season may reduce visible symptoms but increase the risk of residue issues, rejections and higher sorting costs at harvest. Case examples discussed in Poland showed that relatively modest changes in tunnel ventilation strategy, row spacing or defoliation could significantly support grey mould management, sometimes more effectively than an extra spray. The practical message was that a stable IPM strategy – whether based on chemistry, biologicals or both – almost always starts with a workable microclimate.
How Substrate Quality, Root-Zone Microbiome and Climate Strategy Drive Raspberry IPM Performance
Raspberries grown in substrate systems offer both flexibility and new points of vulnerability from an IPM perspective. For many growers, the success or failure of their raspberry IPM program is decided in the root zone, where substrate quality and root-zone conditions play a central role in how fungicides, biocontrol agents and plant defence activators perform.
The physical properties of the substrate influence drainage, aeration and root distribution. When the mix compacts or remains wet for too long, roots can become stressed and more susceptible to root and crown diseases. In such situations, even a carefully designed fungicide program may appear less effective because it is trying to protect plants that are already compromised by their environment.
The root-zone microbiome adds complexity but also opportunity. Beneficial microorganisms can support nutrient cycling, suppress certain pathogens and improve plant resilience, as long as oxygen levels, salinity and temperature remain within reasonable ranges. A climate strategy that overheats the substrate, or allows EC to swing widely, will erode these benefits. During the raspberry-focused session at Berry Forum 2025, several scenarios showed how adjustments in irrigation frequency, emitter placement, shading or ventilation altered disease development more than adjustments in spray timing alone. For raspberry growers, the key takeaway was that substrate, microbiome and climate operate as a single system. IPM products need that system to be broadly functional; they cannot fully compensate for fundamental weaknesses in the root-zone environment.
How to Connect IPM, Fertigation, Climate Management and GLOBALG.A.P. Certification in Berry Production
On many farms, IPM, fertigation, climate control and certification are still managed as distinct areas, often by different people. One person handles nutrition and irrigation, another focuses on plant protection, a third on climate screens and tunnel settings, and a fourth on GLOBALG.A.P. documentation and retailer audits. Each part may be well managed in isolation, yet the overall result can still be inconsistent yields, higher-than-expected rejection rates or stress before inspections, simply because the links between these areas are weak.
A system-level view starts from the recognition that buyer protocols, such as GLOBALG.A.P. and retailer-specific standards, set the framework for decisions on chemistry, residues and hygiene. Fertigation strategy influences plant vigour, tissue robustness and the crop’s ability to recover from pruning or weather stress. Climate management shapes leaf wetness, condensation patterns and pest development rates. IPM, in this context, is the way these elements are coordinated into a reliable, compliant system. Discussions at Berry Forum 2025 highlighted that when programs are designed with certification and retailer expectations in mind from the outset, farms often face fewer last-minute compromises and are better placed to explain their technical choices to buyers.
What Strawberry and Raspberry Growers Are Really Asking About Grey Mould, Biology vs Chemistry and Microbiome-Based IPM
Grower questions were a central part of the Berry Forum 2025 sessions. Grey mould under high pressure was mentioned frequently, especially in the context of strawberry grey mould control in tunnels and greenhouses. Producers described years when long periods of cloudy, wet weather overlapped with flowering and harvest, allowing Botrytis to build up despite intensive protection programs. Their questions went beyond the choice of a single product and focused instead on sequencing: how to combine biologicals and chemistry, how to manage resistance, and how to protect fruit quality without putting residue levels at risk.
Another group of questions focused on microbiome management and the use of biological products, compost teas and microbial inoculants in commercial berry systems. The discussions pointed towards a balanced, practical view. Microbiome-focused strategies can add value, but they need to be integrated into the broader production system and evaluated against economic and operational realities. Large-scale berry farms cannot rely solely on approaches that require ideal conditions every day. A more realistic goal is to use microbiome tools to support a stronger baseline – healthier roots, better nutrient efficiency and improved stress tolerance – while maintaining a pragmatic chemical toolbox for periods of very high pressure. Across these conversations, the emphasis was on clarity: what is possible, what is realistic, and how each farm can position itself on that spectrum.
How to Build Resilient, Retailer-Ready Strawberry and Raspberry Production Systems in Central Europe
Central Europe is emerging as a reference region for how strawberry and raspberry production can adapt to weather variability and stricter market expectations. Growers in Poland and neighbouring countries operate in competitive environments, supplying buyers who expect consistent quality, traceability and disciplined residue management. At Berry Forum 2025, “resilient, retailer-ready production” was discussed as an everyday operational goal rather than a slogan, reflecting the pressures that farms face from both weather and the market.
In this context, structured advisory support can help identify practical next steps. A technically grounded review of IPM, substrate and climate strategy often reveals bottlenecks that routines have normalised over time. Advisory teams at companies such as Cultiva EcoSolutions work with growers to map how plant protection, fertigation, climate control and certification interact on a specific farm, under specific buyer demands, and to turn that analysis into practical IPM programs for strawberries and raspberries. The aim is to co-design a system that fits the farm’s scale, labour structure and investment capacity, rather than to impose a fixed template. For growers who did not have the opportunity to talk with Cultiva EcoSolutions during Berry Forum 2025, continuing the discussion afterwards – through LinkedIn or a more structured review – can be a constructive step towards more stable, retailer-ready berry production in the coming seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions About IPM for Retailer-Ready Strawberry and Raspberry Production
System-level IPM for strawberries and raspberries means designing the whole production system so pest and disease pressure stay manageable, not just choosing products. It links decisions in irrigation, fertigation, pruning, tunnel ventilation, substrate and microbiome with plant protection. The goal is stable yields, controlled residues and lower risk under variable Central European weather and retailer demands.
Climate and microclimate drive how quickly grey mould and other diseases develop in strawberries. Periods of rain, heat, humidity and condensation around flowering and harvest determine wetness duration on flowers and fruit. Tunnel ventilation, row spacing and defoliation then decide how fast tissues dry, how well sprays reach targets and whether extra fungicide sprays are really needed.
In substrate-grown raspberries, IPM performance depends heavily on root-zone conditions. Poor drainage, compaction or constantly wet media stress roots and make plants more vulnerable to root and crown diseases, even with good fungicide programs. A balanced microbiome, adequate oxygen and stable EC support nutrient use, resilience and the effectiveness of biologicals and plant protection products.
To align berry IPM programs with GLOBALG.A.P. and retailer residue limits, growers should plan plant protection together with fertigation, climate and hygiene from the start. That includes choosing products and spray timings compatible with residue requirements, documenting decisions, and using climate and microclimate management to reduce disease pressure so fewer high-risk treatments are needed close to harvest.
Growers should consider external IPM and GLOBALG.A.P. support when they face repeated grey mould problems, inconsistent yields, high rejection rates or stress before audits. An independent review can map how plant protection, irrigation, fertigation, climate control and certification interact on a specific farm and propose practical adjustments tailored to its scale, labour structure and buyer expectations.
