The ability of some cover crops to suppress common weeds of strawberry fields

We evaluated the usefulness of cover crops for weed management in strawberries. Wheat (Triticum aestevum L.), rye (Secale cereale L.) and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) were grown in individual pots, then killed by tillage or herbicide and followed in the same pots by plantings of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.), yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.), crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Schreb. ex Muhl.) or strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa 'Cardinal'). Rye and wheat tilled into the medium generally increased the growth of strawberries and decreased the growth of bermudagrass. However, rye and wheat residues appeared to suppress growth of weeds and strawberries when the residues remained on the medium surface. Crimson clover had little affect on growth of weeds or strawberries. Yellow nutsedge and crabgrass were not significantly affected by cover crop residues.