By: Erica Pate, Fruit Crop Specialist, OMAFA
Published November 2024
Using pre-emergence herbicides in the late fall and very early spring contributes to good season-long weed control. Late fall herbicide applications should be made when the plants are dormant and the soil is not frozen, before mulch is applied, in November or December. Herbicides applied at this timing will prevent weed-seed germination next spring. The herbicide you choose depends on the spectrum of weed control, soil type, previous applications and herbicide tolerance of the varieties in your fields.
Product | Group | Notes |
Sinbar (terbacil) | 5 | Apply to a weed-free soil just before mulching. Use a low rate where it is planned to use Sinbar again in the spring. Do not apply to weak or stressed plants. |
Reflex (fomesafen) | 14 | Do not apply Reflex to any field more often than once every 2 years. Use a minimum of 200 L water/ha. Apply with surfactant if weeds have emerged. Maximum 1 application per year. |
Goal 2XL, Basket 2XL (oxyfluorfen) | 14 | Will also control small weed seedlings. |
Chateau EZ (flumioxazin) | 14 | Apply once per season as a broadcast spray to dormant plants or as a row middle spray using a shielded sprayer to non-dormant plants. Do not allow spray drift to come in contact with fruit or foliage. Unacceptable crop injury may occur if this product comes into contact with non-dormant structures. |
Authority 480 (sulfentrazone) | 14 | Best results obtained when the soil is moist at the time of application and followed by at least 1.25 cm of rain 2 weeks after application. Do not tank-mix with other group 14s. Maximum 1 application per year. |
Devrinol 2-XT (napropamide) | 15 | Apply once per year before weeds emerge. Incorporation by rainfall, irrigation, or cultivation is essential. |
Note: Dacthal is no longer available. The last date of use by growers was December 31, 2023.
Note that each of these herbicides has a maximum of one application per year, except for Sinbar, which can be applied 3 times a year on new plantings or twice a year on established plantings following renovation. Remember that each of these herbicides has residual soil activity that will affect germination of cover crops for some months after application. If next year will be the last harvesting year for your planting, see the product label for plant-back restrictions.
See product labels or the Ontario crop protection hub (Ontario.ca/cropprotection) for more details on these herbicides. The Strawberry IPM Weed Management Guide from New Brunswick is another excellent resource for weed control options (https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/10/pdf/Agriculture/SmallFruits-Petitsfruits/StrawberryIPM.pdf).
