Herbicide Injury Symptoms in Berry Crops

Table of Contents

1. Terbacil (Sinbar)
2. Simazine (Princep, Simazine, Simadex)
3. Dichlobenil (Casoron)
4. Glyphosate (Roundup, Laredo ,Wrangler ,Renegrade, Touchdown, Credit, Glyphos, Factor, Roundup Transorb, Clear-It, Expedite, Vision, Vantage, Vantage Plus)
5. 2,4-D (2,4-D Amine)
6. Clopyralid (Lontrel)
7. Imazethapyr (Pursuit)
8. Flumetsalem (Broadstrike Treflan, Fieldstar)
9. References

Terbacil (Sinbar)

Registered on:

• strawberries
• highbush blueberries
• preemergence to weeds

How it works:

• Uptake mostly through the roots, some through leaves and stem
• Translocated upward into leaves
• Group 5: inhibitor of photosynthesis - others in group: simazine, metribuzin

Injury symptoms:

• From uptake by roots: yellow veins & yellow to necrotic leaf margins
• From leaf contact: scorched leaves & interveinal yellowing and dying

Precautions:

• Do not apply to soils with less than 1% organic matter
• Do not apply to eroded soil areas
• Use lower rates on soils between 1 and 2% organic matter
• Do not apply on weak or diseased plants

Terbacil on floricane leaves

Terbacil on primocane leaves

For more information:

• Contact Dupont Canada 1-800-667-3925

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Simazine (Princep, Simazine, Simadex)

Registered on:

• raspberries, loganberries, blackberries
• highbush blueberries
• preemergence to the weeds

How it works:

• Absorbed by roots, little or no foliar absorption
• Translocates upwards in the xylem
• Accumulates in apical meristem and leaves
• Group 5: inhibitor of photosynthesis - others in group: metribuzin, Sinbar, atrazine

Injury symptoms:

• Interveinal yellowing - veins stay green
• Leaves eventually turn brown and die

Precautions:

• Use only on established plants
• Apply as a directed spray early in the spring - keep spray off young shoots
• Tissue cultured raspberry plants are very sensitive to simazine at planting
• Do not use simazine for at least one year before removing planting to avoid residues
• Rotate with other herbicides to avoid weeds developing resistance

Reduce risk of injury by:

• Increasing soil organic matter with cover crops, green manure crops, mulch, manures, reducing cultivation
• Choosing soils with more than 2% organic matter
• Choosing lower rates, especially on susceptible soils and cultivars • Reducing soil erosion so contaminated soil will not puddle in low spots
• Using irrigation to activate herbicide and ensure breakdown

Simazine on Heritage - early spring

For more information:

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Dichlobenil (Casoron)

Registered on:

• highbush blueberries
• raspberries
• cranberries
• preemergence to the weeds

How it works:

• Becomes a vapour in the soil
• Absorbed by roots and translocated upward in plant
• Inhibits germination, and acts on growing points and root tips
• Stops sprouting from perennial plant structures
• Group 20: inhibits cell wall synthesis - no other herbicides in group

Injury symptoms:

• Stunted growth
• Margins of leaves turn yellow then brown
• On raspberries, spring applications will stop new shoots from emerging from the ground

Precautions:

• Use only under 3-year-old+ blueberries, established raspberries in the fall
• Do not cultivate or work into soil
• Do not use on light, sandy soil

Reduce risk of injury by:

• Increasing your soil organic matter with cover crops, green manure crops, mulch, manures, reducing cultivation
• Choosing soils with more than 2% organic matter
• Using only fall applications on raspberries
• Restricting use to areas where perennial weeds are a problem
• Using only on healthy plants that are well established
• Ensuring that soil conditions are moist and cool so that the vapour stays sealed in the soil

For more information:

• Contact Uniroyal Chemical at 1-800-265-2157

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Glyphosate (Roundup, Laredo, Wrangler, Renegrade, Touchdown, Credit, Glyphos, Factor, Roundup Transorb, Clear-It, Expedite, Vision, Vantage, Vantage Plus)

Registered on:

• Simazine on Heritage - early spring
• strawberries as a wick or wiper treatment
• highbush blueberries as a directed spray
• postemergent to the weeds

How it works:

• Absorbed through foliage and translocated through the plant
• Non-selective
• Group 9: inhibits EPSP synthase (breaks the metabolism chain)

Injury symptoms:

• Yellowing of growing point shortly after application
• Most plants will slowly die; Symptoms in 7 to 10 days
• In the following year, perennial plants including berries will show tiny leaves, strappy, pale with little growth for several years afterwards
• Glyphosate is not broken down in the plant, and may make plants more susceptible to disease

Precautions:

• Glyphosate injury - the next year Avoid contact with crop and desirable plants
• Avoid contact with fruit, foliage or canes
• Use drift reducing techniques, like low pressure and low drift nozzles (low water volumes are preferred for better control)
• Use clean water to avoid deactivating the chemical.

Reduce risk of injury by:

• Wicking or wiping directly onto problem weeds
• Avoiding drift by using low pressures and nozzles with large droplets
• Avoiding spraying when winds exceed 11 kph
• Controlling perennial weeds in the year before berries are planted
• Preventing perennial weeds from setting seeds in your fields.
• Treating cover crops at least 10 days before plants go into the ground.

Glyphosate injury in spring.

Glyphosate injury - late stage.

Glyphosate injury - the next year

Roundup injury to strawberries.

For more information:

• Monsanto Canada: 1-800-667-4944
• For Touchdown: Syngenta Crop Protection Canada Inc.: 1-800-263-8308

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2,4-D (2,4-D Amine)

Registered on:

• strawberries at renovation
• raspberries before new shoots grow
• postemergent to the weeds

How it works:

• Readily absorbed through leaves or roots
• Translocated to meristem in growing tips in shoots or roots
• Imitates plant growth hormone, causes plant to grow itself to death
• Group 4: synthetic auxins - others in group: Lontrel, dicamba, mecoprop

Injury symptoms:

• Twisted growth in growing tips
• May cause distorted leaf margins
• May cause berries to be misshapen, or not to form
• Blueberry leaves turn bright red and die; new plants may die completely

Precautions:

• Use amine formulation for less drift
• Do not spray raspberries when plants are in bloom
• Keep spray off leaves and new raspberry shoots as much as possible.
• Avoid hot, humid conditions
• On strawberries, do not use when early runners are rooting,
• Do not use between mid-August and fall dormancy when flower buds are developing for next year's crop.
• Avoid use on Veestar, due to susceptibility to injury.

Reduce risk of injury by:

• Use preemergent herbicide to avoid broadleaf weed escapes
• Choose fields with low weed pressure and prevent weed seeds from escaping in your fields
• Use spot sprays when only a few weeds exist in field
• Early timely cultivation in new plantings will control may BLW weed escapes
• Do not use when flower buds are forming.
• Use drift reduction techniques: wick or wiper, coarse nozzles, higher water volumes
• Use on strawberries immediately after harvest when plants are fairly dormant
• Use early in spring on raspberries.

For more information:

• For Amsol 2,4-D Amine 500: Bayer Cropscience 1-800-891-8291
• or other manufacturers of 2,4-D amine products

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Clopyralid (Lontrel)

Registered on:

• strawberries at renovation
• highbush blueberries
• cranberries
• postemergent to the weeds

How it works:

• Absorbed through foliage, translocated through plant to the meristem
• Hormone herbicide
• Group 4: synthetic auxin - others in group: 2,4-D, dicamba, mecoprop, etc.
• Microbial breakdown with little residual activity in soil

Injury symptoms:

• Twisted growth
• Crinkled leaves
• Poor runnering??
• Susceptible to winter injury if stressed plants are treated

Precautions:

• Do not apply to plants under stress like drought, flooding, severe overwintering conditions
• Early cultivars like Veestar or Annapolis may be more susceptible to injury

Reduce risk of injury by:

• Using on tolerant cultivars
• Using irrigation, proper drainage to reduce stress
• Using straw mulch to avoid winter injury
• Using lower rates on the label.
• Avoiding other stresses like using 2,4-D, or high rates of Sinbar.

For more information:

• Dow AgroSciences: 1-800-667-3852

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Imazethapyr (Pursuit)

Registered on:

• soybeans
• white and edible beans
• peas
• alfalfa
• preemergent or postemergent to the weeds

How it works:

• Absorbed by roots and foliage
• Translocated in both xylem and phloem
• Stops root development
• Metabolized by tolerant species
• Residual in soil may cause injury to berries
• Breakdown very slow at soil pH less than 6.0
• Group 2: ALS inhibitors - others in group: Classic, Broadstrike, Peak, etc.

Injury symptoms:

• From drift: Burning of leaf tissue, stunting
• From herbicide residue: Stunting, no further development, poor root development, narrow small leaves

Precautions on label:

• Do not apply to soil with less than 2% or more than 5% organic matter
• Do not apply to soils with pH lower than 5.9 or greater than 7.8
• Recropping restrictions: berries – unknown; 9 months for corn, 18 months for canola; 18 months for potatoes/tomatoes (see Table 5, Publication 75: Order Publication 75)

Reduce risk of injury by:

• Maintain soil pH above 6.0; apply lime at least 3 years before planting strawberries
• Learn field history of herbicide use before planting
• Try a field bioassay the year before planting
• Plan crop rotations to avoid fields treated with Pursuit for at least 3 (??) years

For more information:

• BASF Agricultural Products: 1-800-263-5444

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Flumetsalem ( Broadstrike Treflan, Fieldstar)

Registered on:

• soybeans
• field corn
• preemergent or postemergent to the weeds

How it works:

• Absorbed by both roots and shoots
• Metabolized by the crop, not the weeds
• Residual in soil may cause injury to berries
• Breakdown very slow at soil pH less than 6.0
• Group 2: ALS inhibitors - others in group: Classic, Pursuit, Peak, etc

Injury symptoms:

• From foliar application (eg. drift): Foliar burning
• From carryover of flumetsalem residual: Stunted growth, little root development, watch for injury in circles where pH is low.

Precautions on label:

• Do not apply to soil with less than 2% or more than 5% organic matter
• Do not apply to soils with pH lower than 5.9 or greater than 7.8
• Recropping restrictions: berries – unknown; 10 months corn, 26 month canola; potatoes/tomatoes 22-26 months (see Table 5, Publication 75)

Reduce risk of injury by:

• Maintain soil pH above 6.0; apply lime at least 3 years before planting berries
• Learn field history of herbicide use before planting
• Try a field bioassay the year before planting
• Plan crop rotations to avoid fields treated with flumetsalem for at least 3 (??) years

For more information:

• Dow AgroSciences: 1-800-667-3852

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References

• Notes on Chemicals, from Publication 75, Guide to Weed Control
• Publication 360, Fruit Production Recommendations
• NRAES Strawberry Production Guide, by Marvin Pritts, David Handley, 1998, NRAES, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853-5701
• NRAES Bramble Production Guide, by Marvin Pritts, Jim Hancock, 1998, NRAES, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853-5701
• Herbicide Handbook of the Weed Science Society of America, Fourth Edition, 1979, WSSA, 309 West Clark Street, Champaign, Illinois, 61820
• Compendium of Strawberry Diseases, 2nd Edition, American Phytopathological Society, 1998, APS, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55121-2097, USA
• Compendium of Raspberry and Blackberry Diseases and Insects, 2nd Edition, American Phytopathological Society, 1998, APS, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55121-2097, USA

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