New Weed Control Options in Strawberries

Strawberry growers know the challenges weeds present in their crops. Every grower has their special formula that they think works best for them, which typically includes some form of mulch in the row middles, along with herbicide applications.

In order to evaluate the various herbicide options that exist, a trial was conducted at the University of Guelph's, Cedar Springs Research Station. Herbicides were applied in the row middles of June-bearing plasticulture strawberries. The treatments included: a weedy control, Aim + Roundup, Chateau + Roundup, Gramoxone and a weed-free control.

No injury symptoms were observed in any of the treatments. Differences between treatments were evident at 28 days after application. There were new flushes of weeds in the Aim and Gramoxone treatments. The Chateau + Roundup treatment, was the only application that provided residual control.

An organic trial was also conducted at the same location. This trial evaluated potential organic weed management strategies in the row middles of June-bearing plasticulture strawberries. The treatments were: a weedy control, spring seeded fall rye, compost at a 2" thickness, compost at a 2" thickness + newspaper, Chateau + Roundup - as a standard and a weed-free control,

No injury symptoms were observed in any of the treatments. Weed control was excellent for all applications at 14 days after treatments were applied. However, after 4 weeks there were weed escapes in the rye and compost only plots. Weed escapes also occurred along the edges of the compost treatments.

Both of these trials will be repeated next season. These trials were completed by Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada in collaboration with the University of Guelph and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Food.