Herbicidal control of Vulpia myuros (Rat's-tail fescue) in glasshouse screening tests

摘要

Vulpia myuros (Rat's-tail fescue) is an annual grass-weed that can thrive under minimum cultivation systems. At present it is only a minor problem in the UK but in Denmark, where more herbage seed is grown, it is a more significant problem. Three potscreening experiments were conducted to find the best herbicides to control V. myuros pre- and post-emergence, and to see if resistance was an issue. Flufenacet and prosulfocarb were best at the pre-emergence timing while the ALS inhibiting herbicides (e.g. mesosulfuron+iodosulfuron) performed best post-emergence. Timing was important as efficacy varied with growth stage. No evolved resistance was found in any of the seed samples tested, but V. myuros is naturally tolerant to ACCase inhibiting herbicides, which gave consistently poor control. Consequently, good control is possible with some herbicides with ploughing a viable cultural option due to short seed persistence.