ABSTRACT
During many years the methodology of chemical weed control in soft fruit crops was rather stable, being satisfactory from the point of view of efficacy and economy.
Weed control in strawberry was based on the three herbicides lenacil, simazine and phenmedipham and in woody soft fruit crops on simazine, paraquat and amitrole.
Due to changes in crop husbrandry, the introduction of new varieties and the continuous use of the same herbicides new problems arose, as varietal susceptibility to herbicides, persistence in soil, resistance of certain weeds and new weed species invading.
The need for new and more herbicides became evident and at the same time it was felt that the old ones could not be missed. Screening activities were started with herbicides already approved for applications in other crops to find additional chemical solutions.
The new graminicides were tested and they showed a high level of selectivity and efficacy. Research was also started to look for alternatives for the persistent herbicide paraquat. This report deals with recent developments in chemical weed control in soft fruit in the Netherlands and discusses the results of field experiments.
