Small fruit are a popular commodity group in New York; we have farmers producing strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries as well as more specialty crops like currants, elderberries, gooseberries, and more. Small fruit crops are perennial, which leads to very different weed problems from annual row crop production. Often perennial weeds are more of an issue, and management methods are quite different both from row crops and from one small fruit species to the next. We collected problem and common weeds from a range of small fruit specialists to develop a weed list for this commodity group. If you have a weed in small fruit that is not represented on this page, please let us know.

Problem Weeds

Hairy galinsoga (Galinsoga quadriradiata)

Hairy galinsoga identification is available from the University of Missouri.

Management of hairy galinsoga: Cornell University’s Crop and Pest Management Guidelines, or Cornell University’s Turfgrass and Landscape weed ID app.

Goldenrods (Solidago spp)

Grape vines (Vitis spp)

The University of Pennsylvania provides a good page on wild grape control.  Make sure to check whether any herbicide used is legal for application in New York.

Pennsylvania smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum)

Identification and control information from the University of Michigan Extension.

Red sorrel (Rumex acetosella)

Identification from the University of Missouri: https://weedid.missouri.edu/weedinfo.cfm?weed_id=245 

Management suggestions are available at Bugwood.org. 

Virginia creeper

Identification from the University of Wisconsin Extension’s article on Virginia creeper.

Management from Ruger’s University Plant and Pest Advisory article on virginia creeper.

Additional common weeds