Spartan has looked good in both our trials and Tim's trials. It is most effective on broadleaf weeds, but will pick up some grasses at higher rates. It was one of the most gentle of all herbicides to the strawberries in our trials. The other good news is that we recently received a supplemental label for the use of Select 2 EC herbicide in strawberries. Previously, we could only use Select during the establishment year.
Annual bluegrass can be a very troublesome weed in strawberries.
Unlike Poast, Select is very effective on annual bluegrass. I continued to make this recommendation under the same circumstances, but I was always a little uneasy because there was no real data as to how this would ultimately affect yield. I also wondered if these N rates would result in softer fruit. During the last 2 years, OSU Berry Specialist, Bernadine Strik, has attempted to begin answering some of these questions. Thanks to her work, we now have a better understanding of how nitrogen applied at different times is used by the plant, but the ultimate question of whether or not spring applied N will increase yields remains unanswered.