Comprehensive evaluation of six weed management methods for use in amercan elderberry production
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American elderberry (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis) is a rapidly developing specialty crop, native to eastern and midwestern North America. Crop development over the last three decades has been driven by a renewed interest in the crop's purported health benefits, including antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties. Ther is currently little to no literature regarding the effect of common weed management methods on factors relative to commercial production of American elderberry. The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of six weed management options, with the goal of elucidating cost effective and practical methods for weed management in American elderberry production. Study objectives include evaluating elderberry plant performance, assessing effective weed suppression, and conducting an economic comparison between six weed management methods. Research plantings, incorporating three cultivars, were established in 2022 at two research sites (HARF, SWREEC) in Missouri, USA, and data were collected over the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons. Treatments included woven landscape fabric, woodchip mulch, cover crop, herbicide, managed (hand-weeded) control, and unmanaged control. The weed management treatment had a limited effect on elderberry plant phenology and fruit quality but resulted in a significant influence on plant growth and cumulative fruit yield. Woodchip mulch and woven fabric treatments presented maximum plant heights similar to that of the managed control. Herbicide, mulch, and woven fabric treatments offered the greatest fruit yields, which were not significantly different from the managed control. Compared to the unmanaged control, the woven fabric treatment reduced dry weed biomass by 44 percent, while the cover crop, woodchip mulch, and herbicide treatments reduced weed biomass by 71 percent, 86 percent, and 91 percent, respectively. Results indicate that both woodchip mulch and herbicide treatments were effective in reducing weed biomass and improving both plant growth and fruit yield, while also proving to be most economically efficient across year, site, and cultivar.
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M.S.