Weed control and highbush blueberry tolerance with indaziflam on sandy soils

Abstract Northern highbush blueberry is an important fresh market product in New Jersey where the plant was first domesticated early 20th century. Because of short period for safely and timely applying postemergence (POST) herbicides, reliance on residual herbicides that provide season-long control weeds essential growers to minimize detrimental effect weed competition berry yield quality bush growth. Field studies were conducted from 2018 2020 Chatsworth, Jersey, ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Duke’, ‘Elliott’ cultivars growing sandy acidic soil evaluate crop tolerance response repeated annual applications indaziflam at 73 or 146 g ai ha −1 applied fall spring. The efficacy treatments compared those fall-applied dichlobenil 3,300 a spring-applied mix diuron 1,800 , oryzalin 3,360 mesotrione 210 . Indaziflam currently labeled rate provided ≥85% horseweed, Canadian toadflax, large crabgrass with dormant blueberry, whereas spring less effective. Whereas minor (≤8%) transient leaf crinkling noted application never caused greater than observed nontreated weedy weed-free controls, regardless rate. No negative effects growth fruit production Findings this study suggest (1× commercial use rate) safe grown soils despite restrictions using herbicide such soils.