Herbicidal compositions and methods

A method for cultivating a permanent crop plant with preemergent control of weeds in soil where a permanent crop plant resides, the permanent crop plant being a stone fruit tree, a nut tree, a pome tree, or a grape vine, the permanent crop plant having annual growing seasons that commence with a budding phase of the permanent crop, the method comprising:

• harvesting crop from the permanent crop plant, the crop grown during a first growing season for the permanent crop plant that occurs in a first calendar year, the harvesting step conducted during the first calendar year;
• after the harvesting step and during a dormant phase of the permanent crop plant that begins in the first calendar year, applying fluridone to the soil at a rate of about 0.2 pound per acre to about 0.8 pound per acre;
• and
• after commencement of a subsequent growing season of the permanent crop plant that follows the dormant phase, irrigating the soil, wherein the irrigating delivers an average of at least 0.1 inch of water to the soil per day over at least a 60-day period taking into account both water provided by irrigation and rainfall and ensures that the soil does not experience any period greater than one week during which the soil fails to receive at least 0.1 inch of water through irrigation or rainfall, so that the fluridone applied during the applying step is effective to provide preemergent control of weeds in the soil for said at least 60-day period during the subsequent growing season of the permanent crop plant, and
• wherein the crop does not exhibit any symptoms of phytotoxicity from the fluridone as measured by chlorosis, necrosis, or other visual injury to the leaves of the plant.