Weed Control

Pepper - General Pepper Disease Control Pepper Insect Control Pepper Physiological Disorders

For optimum growth and highest pepper yields, aim to keep production areas weed-free for the first 8–10 weeks after transplanting, until pepper plants are large enough to be competitive with weeds.

Hairy galinsoga can be an issue in pepper production fields because this weed is not controlled by most herbicides registered for use in pepper, and because it resists cultivation. Stale seed beds can help by encouraging and then killing off the initial flush of germinating galinsoga seeds. If galinsoga is an issue, rotate to crops where the use of herbicides that are known to control galinsoga are permitted (such as beets where Stinger can be applied, or sweet corn where atrazine herbicides can be applied) to help reduce the number of short-lived galinsoga seeds in the soil.

Eliminate small patches of solanaceous weeds, such as jimsonweed and horsenettle, prior to transplanting peppers, because they are in the same plant family as pepper and can serve as alternate hosts and sources for disease and insect pests.

Stale Seedbed

The following herbicides are nonselective and are used to control weeds that are present in a field prior to planting or before the crop emerges, which is especially useful for the Stale Seedbed Technique (see the Weed Management section for more information).

Preemergent Herbicides (before weeds germinate)

HRAC Group 0:

  • bensulide (Prefar 4E): 5 to 6 qt/A; REI 12h. 1 application per year. Apply before planting. May be applied under plastic. Grass control only.

  • napropamide (Devrinol 2-XT): 2 to 4 qt/A; REI 24h. 1 application per year. Apply before transplanting or before or after direct seeding. May be applied before laying plastic mulch or between plasticulture beds.

HRAC Group 3:

  • pendimethalin (Prowl H2O): 1 to 3 pt/A; PHI 70d, REI 24h. 1 application per year. Apply as a broadcast surface application under plastic mulch, before transplanting crops, in a band to previously untreated row middles between beds, or as a directed spray after planting transplants. Do not apply before direct-seeding. Contact with crop will cause damage.

  • trifluralin (Treflan HFP): 1 to 2 pt/A; REI 12h. 1 application per year. Apply before transplanting and incorporate within 24 hours; a second incorporation pass in the opposite direction may be required.

HRAC Group 13:

  • clomazone (Command 3ME): 10.7 to 42.7 fl oz/A; REI 12h. 1 application per year. Apply to the soil surface before transplanting. Temporary partial whitening of leaf or stem tissue may occur but should not affect yield. Do not use on banana peppers.

HRAC Group 14:

  • sulfentrazone (Aquesta 4F): 2.25 to 12 fl oz/A; REI 12h. 1 application per year. Apply banded or broadcast before transplanting.

HRAC Group 15:

  • s-metolachlor (Dual Magnum): PHI 60d, REI 24h. MA, ME, and NH only. Bell pepper only. Make sure the label for your state is available for download before using this product. Full label instructions are supplied to growers who apply through the website www.syngenta-us.com/labels/indemnified-label-login and agree to a waiver of liability. Main target weeds for this registration are galinsoga and yellow nutsedge.

Pre- and Postemergence Herbicides

HRAC Group 2:

  • halosulfuron (Sandea): 0.5 to 1 oz/A; PHI 30d, REI 12h. Do not exceed 2 oz/A per year. Apply as a directed spray 21 days after transplanting, or when plants are at least 6” tall but prior to flowering. Or, apply to row middles after planting, as a banded or wiper application.

Postemergent Herbicides (after weeds germinate)

HRAC Group 0:

  • pelargonic acid (Scythe): 3% to 10% solution; PHI 1d, REI 12h. Apply preplant, or as a directed and shielded spray during crop growth. Contact with crop will cause damage.

HRAC Group 1:

  • clethodim (Select Max): 9 to 16 fl oz/A; PHI 20d, REI 24h. Do not exceed 64 fl oz/A per year. Apply to actively growing grasses.

  • sethoxydim (Poast): 0.5 to 1.5 pt/A; PHI 7d, REI 12h. Do not exceed 3 pt/A per year. Apply to actively growing grasses. BASF has stopped production and will discontinue the registration at the end of 2027.

HRAC Group 9:

  • glyphosate (Roundup Power Max): 10 fl oz to 3.1 qt/A; PHI 14d, REI 4h. Do not exceed 5 qt/A per year. Apply during fallow intervals and up until 3 days prior to planting, at planting, before crop has emerged, or to row middles with a hooded or shielded sprayer or wiper applicator. Spray contact may cause crop death. Spray additive recommendation varies with formulation—see label.

HRAC Group 14:

  • carfentrazone (Aim EC): 0.5 to 2 fl oz/A; PHI 0d, REI 12h. Do not exceed 6.1 fl oz/A per season. Apply as a preplant burndown no later than 1 day before transplanting, or to row middles of emerged crops with hooded sprayers, including crops grown on mulch or plastic. Contact with crop will cause damage.

HRAC Group 22:

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New England Vegetable Management Guide