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Early Season Weed Control in Berry Crops

Laura McDermott, Team Leader, Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture

April 13, 2018

First, make sure to understand the nomenclature when reading herbicide labels.  Bushberries include blueberries, currants, gooseberries - all those multi-stem shrubs.  Caneberries are brambles.  Elderberries are usually in the category of bushberry, as are Juneberries. 

Bushberries and Caneberries

One of the earliest herbicides that can be used is Casoron.  Casuron has two different formulations: Casuron 4G (granular) can be used in bushberries, caneberries, and cranberries. The granular material should be applied before May 1st but the earlier the better.  If you are applying it in April, make sure to apply before soil temperatures exceed 45 degree F and before any annual weed seeds germinate. Casoron CS (not labeled for Ribes) can be applied a bit later but still needs to be incorporated by rainfall before weed germination; it is labeled for 1 year old blueberries, as well as blackberry and raspberries if applied before new shoot emergence. Casoron controls annual grasses and broadleaves, as well as some perennial grasses.  Follow Casuron with a post-emergent such as paraquat to kill pre emerged weeds or apply glyphosate when weeds are actively growing.

Another pre-emergent is Surflan.  Again there are two formulations.  Surflan AS can be used in non-bearing and bearing brambles at a rate of 20-40 gallons per acre. To broaden the spectrum of weed control, tank mix Gramaxone, Princep or Solicam. Irrigate product in to activate material. Surflan XL 2G can only be applied to non-bearing brambles.

Princep, Devrinol, Axxe, Solicam or Sinbar can all be applied for pre-emergent weed control in brambles and blueberries. These herbicides generally do not do a great job on all weeds and need to be evaluated as to your weed population and which tool makes the most sense.

Sandea and Velpar are two products that are only labeled for blueberries.  They can both be applied in early spring although Sandea's real strength is that it controls nutsedge.  This can only be accomplished as a post-emergent directed spray.

Velpar can be applied to bushes that are 3 years or older. It should be applied before the foliage on the lower limbs break bud. Effects of Velpar L vary from one soil type to another.  I've seen growers use Velpar to control annual weeds, but it also seems to have some effect on perennial weeds as well.

Strawberries

Late winter or early spring after winter annual broadleaf weeds have broken dormancy, but before strawberries begin to grow, is a key time for herbicide application. Apply 2,4-D amine, Formula 40 or other labeled 2,4-D formulations, in late winter or early spring to control emerged winter annual broadleaf weeds.

Add Chateau to provide residual annual broadleaf weed control. Use 1 quart of Formula 40 per acre and 3 dry ounces of Chateau after the soil is no longer frozen but before strawberries break dormancy and begin to grow. Chateau can be used once in each calendar year. If Chateau was used in the late fall of last year, Chateau can be reapplied in the March or early April but not used again in the calendar year. The crop will "out-grow" small application injury that may occur, but do NOT apply after the crop has broken dormancy and begun to grow or lasting injury may result.

Note the pre-harvest interval (PHI) for Sinbar use in strawberries is 110 days. This effectively eliminates late winter and early spring applications of Sinbar to strawberries before harvest. A typical strawberry field grown using the matted row system begins to bloom about May 1st and harvest begins in late May or early June. The cut-off date for the 110 day PHI would be sometime in February and has already passed.



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Apples

Apples

Apricots

Apricots

Asparagus

Asparagus

Beets

Beets

Blueberries

Blueberries

Broccoli

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage

Cabbage

Carrots

Carrots

Cauliflower

Cauliflower

Cherries

Cherries

Cucumbers

Cucumbers

Dry Beans

Dry Beans

Eggplant

Eggplant

Ethnic Vegetables

Ethnic Vegetables

Garlic

Garlic

Grapes

Grapes

Horseradish

Horseradish

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi

Leeks

Leeks

Lettuce / Leafy Greens

Lettuce / Leafy Greens

Melons

Melons

Nectarines

Nectarines

Onions

Onions

Parsnips

Parsnips

Peaches

Peaches

Pears

Pears

Peas

Peas

Peppers

Peppers

Plums

Plums

Potatoes

Potatoes

Pumpkins / Gourds

Pumpkins / Gourds

Radishes

Radishes

Raspberries / Blackberries

Raspberries / Blackberries

Rhubarb

Rhubarb

Rutabaga

Rutabaga

Snap Beans

Snap Beans

Squash - Summer

Squash - Summer

Squash- Winter

Squash- Winter

Strawberries

Strawberries

Sweet Corn

Sweet Corn

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Turnips

Turnips

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Upcoming Events

Interested in taking the NYSDEC Pesticide Applicator's exam?

March 27, 2024
March 29, 2024
: Interested in taking the NYSDEC Pesticide Applicator's exam?

View Interested in taking the NYSDEC Pesticide Applicator's exam? Details

2024 Agritourism Webinar Series

January 9, 2024 : Agritourism For Maple Syrup Operations

The first agritourism webinar for 2024 will focus on Maple Syrup Operations.  


February 13, 2024 : Grants for Agritourism Operations

Are there grants that can help you support or grow your agritourism business?  Where do you look for funding?


March 12, 2024 : Staffing your Agritourism Business

Agritourism operations need employees who are good with the public.  Where can you find a labor force for your agritourism enterprise? What different laws and regulations might you encounter as an employer for an agritourism workforce? How do you get your employees hired and trained effectively? 


April 9, 2024 : Working with your local tourism office

Your local tourism office is an important resource for you to help advertise and promote your agritourism business.  Find out what they can do for you!

View 2024 Agritourism Webinar Series Details

Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training

April 15, 2024 : Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training

Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training

Monday April 15, 2-4PM
 
Join us for a live, virtual training on scouting of major insect pests of apple orchards. Anna Wallis (NYSIPM Program), Mike Basedow (CCE ENYCHP), and Janet van Zoeren (CCE LOFT), will broadcast from orchards in their region to discuss best practices for monitoring. We will review monitoring/scouting procedures for major economically significant pests. We will also share resources available for helping with identification of pests and forecasting pest activity.

This event is held on Zoom

View Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training Details

Announcements

2023 Spotted Wing Drosophila Monitoring/Management

All berry farmers are watching for monitoring reports that indicate Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) adults are in their region. Mid-season berry crops should be sprayed as soon as berries begin to ripen unless you've elected to use insect exclusion netting.

- For general information about SWD, and to enroll for free monitoring reports, visit the Cornell SWD blog https://blogs.cornell.edu/swd1/.
- Click here for the 2023 Quick Guide for Pesticide Management. 
- For some great instructional videos and fact sheets on insect exclusion netting, visit the University of Vermont's Ag Engineering blog.


Resources from CCE ENYCHP!

We are developing new ways to connect with the CCE ENYCHP team this year! We have a Youtube page located at this link. Check out videos on Table Grape Production, Pest Updates and the 20 Minute Ag Manager - in 4 Minutes series

We have a Facebook Page here as well as an Instagram page. We keep these places updated with current projects, events, and other interesting articles and deadlines.

There are also text alerts available. Fruit and vegetable farmers in 17 Eastern NY counties can now receive real time alerts on high risk disease and pest outbreaks texted directly to their cell phone. The Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture program, which is supported by local Cornell Cooperative Extension associations, will now offer text alerts to those that enroll in our program in 2019. 

The text alerts will be reserved for important crop alerts that could impact management decisions immediately. For instance, if there were an outbreak of Late Blight in the area, this would be transmitted to vegetable growers.

Farmers can choose the crop for which they wish to receive updates. Additionally they can request that Ag Business Alerts be sent to them. These alerts might include due dates for crop insurance deadlines, market opportunities etc.

If you have questions, please contact enychp@cornell.edu


Podcasts

Winter Greens Grower Interviews in Northern New York

October 22, 2022
In this episode, vegetable specialist Elisabeth Hodgdon interviews Lindsey Pashow, ag business development and marketing specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest New York team. They discuss findings from a series of interviews with winter greens producers in northern New York. Lindsey shares production and marketing challenges associated with growing winter greens in this cold and rural part of the state, success stories and advice from growers, and tips for those interested in adding new crop enterprises to their operation.

Funding for this project was provided by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. The episode was edited by Miles Todaro of the ENYCHP team.

Resources:
• Crop enterprise budget resources available from Penn State Extension (field and tunnel vegetables: https://extension.psu.edu/small-scale-field-grown-and-season-extension-budgets), UMass Extension (winter spinach budgets: https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/outreach-project/improving-production-yield-of-winter-greens-in-northeast and field vegetables: https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-sheets/crop-production-budgets), and Cornell Cooperative Extension (high tunnel vegetables: https://blogs.cornell.edu/hightunnels/economics/sample-budgets-spreadsheets/). Use these budgets as templates when developing your own crop enterprise budget.
• The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook, by Richard Wiswall
• The Winter Harvest Handbook, by Eliot Coleman

For questions about the winter greens project discussed in this podcast, reach out to Lindsey Pashow (lep67@cornell.edu) or Elisabeth Hodgdon(eh528@cornell.edu).

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