This is an article is about Black TIF mulch reducing Charcoal Rot of strawberry more effectively than silver TIF. Charcoal rot, caused by the soil-borne fungus Macrophomina phaseolina, is a crown disease of strawberry that kills plants. Charcoal rot has become a major problem in the strawberry fruit industry in Australia since the phase-out of the soil fumigant methyl bromide. For the last three years, scientists from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and the Victorian Strawberry Industry Certification Authority (VSICA) have conducted a national research project to identify better ways of managing charcoal rot.