Specialist: Manage Resistant Ryegrass Early

 CHRISTIAN COUNTY, KY.
   Managing ryegrass in wheat was presented by Dr. Jim Martin, University of Kentucky Extension Weed Control Specialist at Princeton, at the recent Kentucky Wheat Field Day.
   “Ryegrass by far is the most competitive weed in wheat that we deal with,” Martin said. “Just one plant per square foot can take out yield as much as four percent, so it’s by far the most competitive weed.”
   There are a lot of herbicide options out there available for growers, however one thing to watch for is resistant ryegrass.
   “Kentucky has been real fortunate not to have a lot of herbicide resistant problems, but we’re on the cusp here,” he said. “There are some fields in Kentucky that have Hoelon resistant or ACCase resistant biotypes and we also know that in some of the other states there’s what we call this ALS resistant ryegrass. Both those chemistries, the ACCase and ALS inhibitor chemistries, are the bulk of what we rely upon in managing ryegrass in wheat.
   “If resistance shows up in both of those chemistries, we’re just going to run out of really effective options. So my take on this is manage your fields, be real observant. If you see where you’re not controlling ryegrass, you need to analyze your situation and see if there’s a possibility you may be dealing with resistance.”
    Management must be accomplished as early as possible, because once resistance appears the ryegrass seed can spread fast through the combine. Problems often begin along the edges of fields or near waterways and spread during the harvesting process. Δ
 BETTY VALLE GEGG-NAEGER: Senior Staff Writer, MidAmerica Farmer Grower 
Dr. Jim Martin, University of Kentucky Extension Weed Control Specialist at Princeton, explains management and herbicide options to control ryegrass in wheat.
Photo by John LaRose, Jr.