# What Herbicide do you spray below your vines?



## srcorndog (Mar 17, 2017)

I was wondering what herbicide do you spray for weed control in your vineyard rows that want harm your vines if they get sprayed?
Thanks Charlie


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## garymc (Mar 19, 2017)

Clethodim (Select and other brands) for grasses. Roundup if there are no leaves or shoots near the ground.


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## GreginND (Mar 19, 2017)

I prefer a glufosinate-based herbicide rather than roundup (glyphosate). One brand name is 'Rely' if you can find it. But there are others. It is a broad spectrum herbicide but, unlike roundup, it is not as systemic and will not kill the roots. It will kill what it touches, but if you accidentally hit a shoot or low leaf on your vine, it will only kill that leaf, not affect the rest of the vine.


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## deneed4spd (May 20, 2017)

Where do you buy a glufosinate based herbicide? Can't seem to locate online.


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## GreginND (May 20, 2017)

Look for the following brand names for herbicides that contain glufosinate . . . 

Rely 280
Liberty
Surmise
Cheetah

I found the last one online here: https://www.keystonepestsolutions.com/surmise-herbicide-2-5-gallons-replaces-rely-280-liberty-cheetah-693

If you have a local agricultural supplier that supplies farmers around you they can usually get some. But quantities may be large.


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## treesaver (May 20, 2017)

I've been using Liberty, and like the results. Seems to kill the junk much quicker and faster than roundup ever did. The drawback was that I had to buy 2 1/2 gal jug, which should last me the rest of my life!


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## spaniel (May 31, 2017)

Perhaps my experience is colored by the rich soil and crazy fast (moist/hot) growing season. I grew up a bit further north in Michigan and things were not nearly so crazy here. But in Indiana, my experience is that spraying under my vines was one of the worst decisions ever. By eliminating the grass, weeds had free reign and I was constantly struggling to control them. I guess if the vineyard were my job it wouldn't be an issue as I'd always be on top of it.

To this day, in the two rows I started first and most aggressively eliminated grass, I'm paying the price as the grass competes its way back.

Now I just mow close and go through with a trimmer a few times a summer. Life is easier than spraying, ironically. I can dedicate my sprayer efforts to fungus.


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## TonyR (Jun 1, 2017)

spaniel said:


> Perhaps my experience is colored by the rich soil and crazy fast (moist/hot) growing season. I grew up a bit further north in Michigan and things were not nearly so crazy here. But in Indiana, my experience is that spraying under my vines was one of the worst decisions ever. By eliminating the grass, weeds had free reign and I was constantly struggling to control them. I guess if the vineyard were my job it wouldn't be an issue as I'd always be on top of it.
> 
> To this day, in the two rows I started first and most aggressively eliminated grass, I'm paying the price as the grass competes its way back.
> 
> Now I just mow close and go through with a trimmer a few times a summer. Life is easier than spraying, ironically. I can dedicate my sprayer efforts to fungus.


I have had the same experience and now i pull weeds by hand 4 or 5 inches around vines and a few times a summer will use my weed wacker


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## BlueStimulator (Jun 1, 2017)

Great info I need to do some early spraying in the spring, then when it gets really hot the rock layer I have gets to hot for the weeds to grow


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## Johny99 (Jun 1, 2017)

I'm with Spaniel. I sprayed, Roundup, 1st year after planting. 6 years later I'm still fighting cheatgrass. After talking to a couple of local growers, the consensus seems to be to use mechanical means, pulling or turning, the first 3 years, then mowing after that. Weed walker within the rows. That is what I've been doing on new plantings but I do pull weeds in the spring up to 5 yrs old. After that, the competition doesn't seem to matter.


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## srcorndog (Jun 1, 2017)

I hope you don't girdle your vines using a gas powered trimmer. If you continue this process place wax milk cartons or grow tubes around the base of the vines. Good luck!


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## Sage (Jun 3, 2017)

Put Preen or Casogran in the spring very early and no grass around the vines.


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## bumblebeetuna (Jun 4, 2017)

Read the labels...preen is not recommended for around fruiting plants


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## spaniel (Jul 18, 2017)

srcorndog said:


> I hope you don't girdle your vines using a gas powered trimmer. If you continue this process place wax milk cartons or grow tubes around the base of the vines. Good luck!



LOL. No, never..... 

Do it to a couple hard-earned vines and you learn to be more careful. I'd put protectors on but my dogs would just chew them off.


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## jgmillr1 (Jul 20, 2017)

garymc said:


> Clethodim (Select and other brands) for grasses. Roundup if there are no leaves or shoots near the ground.




Careful. The label for "Intensity" which is 25% clethodim states it is only for non-bearing vines and those that will not bear for at least one year.


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## TonyR (Jul 20, 2017)

Why use any kind of poison around your grapes? If you can't live with the weed do what i do and use a weed wacker. I stop at least 6 inches from the trunks. If you can't judge 6 inches maybe you should not be using any kind of power tools. When i finish weed wacking all my vines I go back to the beginning and pull the weeds that are next to the trunks by hand. Lets be honest you only have to do it 3 maybe 4 times a season.


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## jgmillr1 (Jul 20, 2017)

TonyR said:


> Why use any kind of poison around your grapes? If you can't live with the weed do what i do and use a weed wacker. I stop at least 6 inches from the trunks. If you can't judge 6 inches maybe you should not be using any kind of power tools. When i finish weed wacking all my vines I go back to the beginning and pull the weeds that are next to the trunks by hand. Lets be honest you only have to do it 3 maybe 4 times a season.



That is an excellent way to keep the weeds and grass controlled in a small hobby vineyard, however it is impractical at the commercial scale.


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## GreenEnvy22 (Jul 20, 2017)

Having only a few rows of grapes, we put down a weed blocker fabric around the vines then mulch over top. What gets through we manually weed throughout the summer.


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## garymc (Jul 20, 2017)

I did the landscape fabric on my 3 rows, 100 yards each, and it has not worked well for me. Sand and dirt blows into the mulch and as it composts it becomes a richer growing medium than my soil. Weeds and grass proliferate on it, but the landscape fabric inhibits the vines from getting the benefit of this composted mulch. I haven't found weed eaters to be useful. So I spray grass killer in the rows right up to the trunks of the vines, and broad spectrum weed killer (glyphosate or gluphosate) farther away from the trunks, and pull broadleaf weeds by hand next to the trunks. Mow the middles, which are 12 feet from trunk to trunk (4' wide GDC trellis, so 8' mowable.)


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## balatonwine (Jul 21, 2017)

jgmillr1 said:


> That is an excellent way to keep the weeds and grass controlled in a small hobby vineyard, however it is impractical at the commercial scale.



I would say rather, "it depends" on the total economics involved.

For example, it is not possible to run mechanical tools in the steep hills of the Mosel valley, so everything is done by hand (taking up to 7 times the "man hours" just to harvest). But the wines from Mosel command a high price. So hand labor can be both practical and economical.


And, yes some commercial vineyards do the finishing weeding by hand as was mentioned at the end of this video:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkZJSSUaEwY[/ame]

Meanwhile, here in Hungary, where I am, labor costs are very low. So a lot of land can be trimmed with a brush cutter (aka "weed wacker") for less than the cost of investing into a tractor and a finish mower. And that assumes that a tractor can even go everywhere, which mine can't. Some of my vineyards (total 1 hectare) are quite steep or the terrain makes tractor use unsafe. And we have a lot of larger commercial vineyards here with the same problem. So no week goes by in the summer that I do not hear brush cutters running in the vineyards. In fact I use one myself in the aisles. About half our vineyards are trellised with rows and those are maintained* manually every three to four weeks using a push hoe (the ones with a handle you can offset are ideal). Labor is cheap. On maintained soil here, using a push hoe can process both sides and under the wire of a row at the rate of about 150 m (500 ft) an hour. Which is currently economical at the local hourly rate for me (yes, I actually did a industrial engineering time and cost assessment). And the numerous volcanic rocks in the soil (fist sized on down) just easily pass around the blade (the presence of the rocks is why using most types of mechanical cultivators a non-starter). The blade can go close to the vines, but what few weeds missed are indeed taken out by hand. 



* Only maintenance: Initial sod busting when planting the vineyard was done with a tractor and plow.


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## srcorndog (May 15, 2019)

GreginND said:


> I prefer a glufosinate-based herbicide rather than roundup (glyphosate). One brand name is 'Rely' if you can find it. But there are others. It is a broad spectrum herbicide but, unlike roundup, it is not as systemic and will not kill the roots. It will kill what it touches, but if you accidentally hit a shoot or low leaf on your vine, it will only kill that leaf, not affect the rest of the vine.


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## srcorndog (May 15, 2019)

Thank You very much in the south with the rain weeds grow better than vines. I want to avoid spraying every month or so.


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## srcorndog (May 15, 2019)

GreginND said:


> Look for the following brand names for herbicides that contain glufosinate . . .
> 
> Rely 280
> Liberty
> ...


Great thanks for the info!


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## Bobp (May 20, 2019)

I use Gramoxone, with my preemergent it works well....and is relatively safe for the vines....however it's only a burn down....and does not kill roots..
Otherwise Glyphosate....


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## askins3097 (May 25, 2019)

I plant lawn grass. Mow between my rows. Weed wack around my vines and posts. I need to weed wack it once every 3-4 weeks. Takes about 15 minutes for 25 vines. I don’t think I’d mess with chemicals unless I had acres planted and it was my only choice.


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## Dennis Griffith (May 26, 2019)

I use glyphosate judicially to maintain weed control. I did try Avenger Weed Killer Concentrate For Organic Gardening this year (citrus oil based) and the results were less than I had hoped for. I did see a recipe using vinegar and Epsom salt, but would like to find some research on this and grapes. Adding Epsom salt to the soil may or may not be what I desire and would need to consult my friend (Dr. Dirt) on this. Burn down would be preferable at times (like now) vs a systemic approach (Roundup).


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