Weeds: They Never Go Away and Greatly Influence Your Crop Yields

Two invasive grass weeds in wheat have been added to our common weeds list: rattail fescue and ventenata.

Please visit the Weed Resources page for information on these weeds and other common weeds in wheat and small grains. Also view our extension publication about rattail fescue: Rattail Fescue: Biology and Management in Pacific Northwest Wheat Cropping Systems.

Rattail fescue and ventenata can be a severe problem in reduced tilled and no-till crop production systems. This does not exclude conventionally tilled ground of being devoid of rattail fescue or ventenata. Cropping rotation can be one of the best methods for rattail and ventenata management. Rotating into a spring pulse, spring Brassica, winter pulse, or winter Brassica crop can give you options for rattail and ventenata management. Rattail fescue and ventenata can reduce crop yields up to 30%. Early application of several ACCase- or ALS-inhibiting herbicides can control ventenata in a competitive grain crop. There can be effective control of rattail fescue using flufenacet+metribuzin or pyroxasulfone applied preemergence or glyphosate, pyroxsulam, flucarbazone-sodium, or mesosulfuron + thiencarbazone postemergence, depending on cropping system and weed growth stage.Rattail fescue stem.""