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Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Fruit > Strawberry > Deformed fruit

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Strawberries > Fruit > Deformed fruit

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  • Image: Tarnished Plant Bug 1
  • Image: Tarnished Plant Bug 2
  • Image: Tarnished Plant Bug 3

Tarnished Plant Bug
Lygus lineolaris

  • Feeding results in a berry with a deformed, seedy tip (cat-faced berry)
  • Adults are oval shaped, approximately 1/4 inch long, brownish in color with streaked yellow and black lines (tarnished appearance), and have a white V-shaped marking on its back
  • Nymphs may be confused with aphids, however, they move fast when disturbed (aphids do not)
  • Adults are present early in the season (April-May), and again in high numbers in late June-July; nymphs present in May
  • More prevalent in weedy strawberry patches
  • Remove weeds as they can provide habitat for adults to feed and overwinter
  • Keep lawn mowed so that it does not become a habitat area
  • If your patch is small enough, you can physically remove insects by tapping the flowers and dislodging them into a pan of soapy water
  • More information on tarnished plant bug
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  • Image: Frost Injury 2
  • Image: Frost Injury 1

Frost Injury

  • Berry is puckered or misshapen on any side of the berry, usually with a suture mark between the normal and deformed sides of the berry
  • The first and largest berry is often deformed, later berries are not affected
  • Deformed and healthy fruit appear in the same cluster
  • Center of the flower is black

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