Improvements in Vegetation Management Practices in Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) Using Spectral and Precision Agriculture Technologies

Vegetation management trials were conducted during 2013 and 2014 with the use of 21, WeedSeeker® Model 650 sensors mounted at 30 cm intervals along a 6 m boom sprayer and regulated by a Trimble WeedSeeker controller. Emphasis was placed on developing technologies for use in wild blueberry production that apply pest control products in a precise manner only to targeted areas of interest. When herbicides were applied prior to the emergence of the wild blueberry shoots, competing vegetation was kept to a minimum with a fraction of the herbicide being used compared to plots that had treatments applied to the entire surface area (i.e., broadcast application of a treatment). Similarly, when herbicides were applied post blueberry leaf drop in the autumn, excellent weed control was attained with herbicide applied only to weed cover present. The weeds that were most common in the field sites examined included sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), goldenrod (Solidago canadensis and Euthamia graminifolia), black bulrush (Scripus atrovirens), fescue grasses (Festuca spp.) and poverty oat grass (Danthonia spicata), hair-cap moss (Polytrichum commune). In addition to providing an effective overall weed management tool and reduced herbicide usage, the system also provided a more effective and environmentally friendly means of controlling difficult to manage weed species (e.g., Festuca spp.).Paper presented at NABREW Conference, Paper Session II:Blueberry Weed Management and Phenology Prediction, on June 25, 2014, Atlantic City, N.J