matCHing anD inDuStry Small grant CompetitionS

Developing new tools to manage weeds in brambles

Douglas Doohan, Horticulture and Crop Science Bramble fruit demand has increased rapidly in Ohio due to the public recognition of the health benefits of consumption, which include high levels of antioxidants. However, inadequate weed control is the number one production problem that limits the bramble industrys expansion in the state. Perennial weeds interfere severely with maintenance and harvest. An effective weed control program should include seedling weed control during the planting year and perennial weed control in subsequent years, but the brambles superficial root system and the fact they are a perennial crop limit the potential for mechanical weed control. The research teams experience indicated that these obstacles could be overcome by using certain herbicides. The objective of this project was to develop crop safety and performance data needed to support the licensing of effective herbicides with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Douglas Doohan

maximum crop safety in newly planted brambles. Five postplanting herbicide treatments were applied to one-year-old red raspberries and blackberries, along with an untreated control. The same treatments were reapplied in each of three years over the same plots. The results indicated that the herbicide terbacil (Sinbar), currently not recommended for use with newly planted berries, provided the best overall weed control. Clopyralid is a highly effective herbicide and has great potential to prevent reinfestation by perennial weeds, but uncertainties about crop tolerance to the herbicide still persist. The third and final study aimed to resolve those uncertainties, determining optimum rates and timing of clopyralid applications for crop safety and thistle control. Two-year-old red raspberries were treated four times during the year and at two different rates, along with an untreated control. The results affirm that clopyralid is a safe herbicide for use on raspberries. This project provided the basis for developing strategies that consistently and efficiently control weeds. Clearance requests for several new herbicides were submitted to the Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4), which is a federal cooperative program that helps producers obtain clearances for pest control materials on minor crops. Herbicide performance data were also provided to the IR-4 database. This research has already had a positive impact on weed control, especially among new producers who can plant their brambles using good weed control methods from the outset.

Inadequate weed control is the number one production problem that limits the bramble industrys expansion in the state.
Past research has shown that crop rotation, fallowing, and other sustainable weed control practices suited to annual crops cannot be used in established bramble fields. In order to identify herbicides for potential use on bramble crops, the tolerance of blackberries and red and black raspberries was evaluated in a greenhouse experiment. Four post-planting and six pre-planting herbicide treatments, with both leaf and soil applications, were evaluated. The data demonstrated that tolerance is almost always greatest in blackberries, and the safest treatments were the herbicides clopyralid (Stinger), and pendimethalin (Prowl). In general, brambles recovered from any damage by 21 days after treatment. The second part of the study aimed to determine the best herbicide to provide early-season weed control and

www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/seeds

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SEEDS: The OARDC Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Program