Effects of Cover Crops on Weed and Insect Management in Blackberries

Effects of Cover Crops on Weed and Insect Management in Blackberries

Summary

The problem we want to address is weed control in brambles. On my farm, brambles require a minimum of six to seven sprays throughout the year. This amounts to approximately twelve to fifteen pounds of pesticides applied annually. Because blackberries are gaining in popularity and prices for the fruit are increasing, the time is ripe to develop sustainable methods to reduce chemical in-puts and maintain or increase yields. It is important to lower input costs and increase net profits over the life of the bramble planting.

Our objective is to effectively manage both weeds and insects and reduce dependency on herbicides and insecticides. Knowledge gained through these experiments could be applied to other small fruit or vegetable crops.

We will examine a series of cover crop treatments which will include the following:
1.) Utilization of weeder geese and Sudan grass. Sudan grass to be planted in the row middles with a legume crop to be established in late summer,
2.) Crimson clover in the plant row and Sudan grass in the row middles,
3.) Use of subterranean clover in the plant rows.
4.) Conventional control with black plastic and drip irrigation along with the application of methyl bromide.

A mow and blow method will also be used to mulch around the brambles. The object will be to determine the proper mix of cover crops that will achieve the desired control. Suppression of target weed species and insects (cane borer, Japanese beetle and thrips) will be carefully monitored with the use of surveys and traps.

Collaborators: