CONTROL OF CHICKWEED IN STRAWBERRIES 



Chickweed control is the number one problem in many strawberry fields in 

 the early fall. When the seedlings appear in late September, or early October, 

 they look pretty small and with cold weather COTdng, one can easily be misled 

 into thinking that they won't amount to much, that is, \inless one has had previous 

 experience with chickweed. It can make a tremendous growth in four to six weeks 

 and may completely cover the strawberry plants. It often lives over winter and 

 makes more groirth in the early spring. Not infrequently beds become so heavily 

 infested that picking is no longer profitable and the bed must be plotred under. 



Fall is the best time to control chictareed. The smaller the seedlings irtien 

 a herbicide is applied, the better the control will be. For early fall applica-. 

 tion, that is before the strawberry plants are dormant, Chloro IPC, or sin5)ly 

 CIPC, is recommended. It can be applied as early as the first week in October or 

 at any time thereafter until the ground freezes. Used at the rate of 2 lbs, per 

 acre, it is effective. Since this material is usually formulated so that it coi>- 

 tains h lbs, of CIPC per gallon, l/2 gallon is required for one acre. One liquid 

 ounce would be enough for 680 sq, ft, or one teasixjonful for 200 sq, ft. Since 

 CIPC works through the roots, the amount of water used is not so in5)oirtant. Enough 

 should be used to give good, even coverage. The advantage of spraying with CIPC 

 can be seen in the photograph o The two roirs on the left were sprayed at 2 lbs, 

 per acre in October 195U« The two rows on the right are unsprayed* If the straw- 

 berry bed was not 

 treated in the fall, 

 it can be sprayed with 

 CIPC in the early 

 spring, Scn» control 

 can be obtained but it 

 will not be so good as 

 that following fall 

 spraying because CIPC 

 breaks do«ra faster in 

 the soil as the soil 

 teiiQ)erature increases. 







-■*es 





>l%;is^. i^r^^m' 







Certain of the di- 

 nitro compounds irtiich 

 are made especially for 

 chickweed control, Di- 

 ni t ro-orth o-sec ondary- 

 butyl-phenol, or simply 

 DNOSBP, and its amine 

 and ammonium salts are 

 readily available and 

 effective. 



Chickweed Control - Picture Taken in Spring,19$5 



Since these ON coia- 

 puunis act by "burning" 

 foliage, they will kill 

 the leaves of the strawberry plants as well as the tops of the weeds. For this 

 reason they should be used on strawberries only in the late fall after tJie plants 

 become fully dormant . When the DN is correctly used, the chickweed can be kiUea 



