Gordon Johnson, Extension Vegetable & Fruit Specialist;gcjohn@udel.edu
The start of strawberry harvest was much later in 2014 than in previous years. As we move into June, the question is, how will fruiting be affected? The good news is that we have only had one day where temperatures went above 86°F. This means that flowers that have set recently should still produce berries of good size in June and we can expect continued flowering until we get several hot days in a row. When daytime high temperatures reach a certain critical level (high 80s), strawberry reproductive development will be affected. Flowering will be reduced or will stop altogether and berry size will be reduced. The fact that we have gone through May with little heat stress means that June harvests should be extended.