Conventional strawberry producers should consider use of cereal cover-crops in the furrows of strawberry plantings. The advantages of this are improved water percolation, reduced soil erosion as well as weed suppression. Seeding the covercrop before strawberry transplanting allows the covercrop to become established with the strawberry planting such that the covercrop will be of sufficient size to provide protection from erosion during the rainy season. To kill the covercrop in late winter, strawberry has two grass selective herbicides registered, clethodim (Select Max) which also controls annual bluegrass, and sethoxydim (Poast) which does not control annual bluegrass. These two herbicides will not injure strawberry as the herbicides only act on grasses.
Oct 3, 2015