- Author: Clyde Elmore
- Posted by: Gale Perez
After four years of drought, turfgrass has taken a beating. Some people have turned off the water—the turf has turned into a few patches of grass, but mostly weeds, if anything is growing at all (Figure 1.) Others have reduced irrigation amount or frequency resulting in sparse grass and more weeds (often perennial weeds and/or drought tolerant weeds such as bermudagrass, dallisgrass, field bindweed, dandelion, narrow or broadleaf plantain, knotweed, hairy fleabane, star thistle and others.) Other people of course have removed the grass and replaced the landscape without turfgrass. There also has been a concerted effort to get people to reduce the grass in the landscape by painting with a broad brush that grass is a heavy water...
- Author: Oleg Daugovish
Plasticulture tunnels are the norm for several multimillion dollar crops such as raspberries and flowers. They are not permanent structures and are don't have to comply with the standard runoff regulations for impervious surfaces, but water running off the plastic surely ends up in post rows that become water channels. These post rows are constantly wet and are great for growing weeds.
Growers with tunnels still need to comply with agricultural runoff regulations and try to manage the weeds, which can be challenging due to limited availability of effective herbicides and significant ‘organic' production (that translates to hand-weeding).
In a pilot study we looked at what would $10-15/acre worth of barley or...
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
When we think about weed control in crop production, we often think about 'short-term' result, i.e. weed control after 30 days, weed control after 60 days, weed control at harvest, etc. But weeds and weed control efforts in one crop can significantly influence the density and composition of weeds in following years. The carryover between commodities and seasons is accomplished via the weed seedbank, which serves, in my opinion, as the memory of crop production practices. Weed control successes and failures are reflected by changes that occur in this genetic reservoir. In good years, weeds are successfully controlled and few to no seeds enter the seedbank; in bad years, when weeds escape management strategies, rogue plants...
- Re-posted by: Gale Perez
From the UC Davis News Service • January 21, 2015
Led by Professor David Slaughter of the UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, the project recently received a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture...
- Author: Mark Bolda
- Author: Steven Fennimore
- Author: Patrick Kingston
- Posted by: Gale Perez
From the UC Strawberries and Caneberries blog :: Sept. 11, 2013
Field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis, also known locally as morning glory, is a persistent weed pest in blackberries grown on the Central Coast of the California. Much of this stems from the long period of time between plant establishment and final removal of the crop some five to six years later.
While cultivation of the aisles between the hedgerows is successful in keeping the field clear of most weeds, field bindweed is another matter. Not only does field bindweed establish very deep root systems which frustrate control by cultivation, but...