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Submitted to: Jointed Goatgrass Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 1/26/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Jointed goatgrass is a troublesome winter annual weed in winter wheat. There are no herbicides available that will control this weed selectively in winter wheat. Jointed goatgrass infests five million acres and it costs farmers $145 million annually in reduced yields, dockage, increased tillage, reduced farmland values and shifting crop production to less profitable crops. In this manuscript, 13 separate cultural, mechanical an physical methods for suppressing jointed goatgrass are discussed. This information will be useful to growers and extension personnel designing integrated weed management systems for controlling jointed goatgrass in winter wheat. Diligent use of these practices could save U.S. farmers millions annually. Technical Abstract: Jointed goatgrass (Aegilops cylindrica) is a winter annual grass that mimics the life cycle of winter wheat and now infests an estimated five million acres of winter wheat in the western U.S. Jointed goatgrass competes vigorously with wheat and yield losses of 25 to 50% are common. Because this weed is genetically related to wheat, it cannot be controlled selectively in winter wheat with herbicides. To manage jointed goatgrass, growers need to integrate all available practices including planting goatgrass-free wheat seed, selecting tall, fast growing varieties, using high seeding rates and narrow rows, hand roguing scattered plants, cleaning farm machinery thoroughly before moving it from field to field, preventing goatgrass from producing seed in fallow, roadsides, and field borders, burning wheat stubble to kill goatgrass seeds, and extending crop rotations so winter cereals are not grown for three years or longer. |
