Last year about this time, I posted a blog regarding an ongoing trial investigating various herbicides for Pre-emergent Control of Medusahead. I wanted to follow up on that trial which I “deemed” unsuccessful and share some of the data collected in 2017.

The main objective of the study was to test various herbicides for medusahead control. I was interested if some of the work conducted at Colorado State with Esplanade (indaziflam) could be replicated with medusahead. In Colorado field trials, single applications of Esplanade had offered three-year...

As you can tell by going through archived blogs on this site, medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) is an extremely popular grass. Well, an infamous one, perhaps. I am fairly certain that none of us actually like it. In this blog I will add to the plethora of medusahead posts; but first, a public service announcement.

On May 2, 2017, there will be a Medusahead Management Workshop at Lindcove REC, in Exeter. Online registration is available at ucanr.edu/medusahead. This workshop aims to inform attendees about medusahead biology, its economic impact on cattle operations, and a variety of tools available to...

I wanted to share some initial results from some medusahead trials I implemented this past year. Most of you are probably familiar with the invasive winter annual grass medusahead. If you follow this blog there have been numerous medusahead postings over the past years.

Now before I get going I wanted to point out this wonderful resource, The Medusahead Management Guide! It was published by the Weed Research Information Center in 2014, authored by Guy Kyser, Joseph DiTomaso, Kirk Davies, Josh Davy and Brenda Smith. There is a plethora of good information in this management guide and I encourage you to take a gander at it!

Link:

One of the most devastating characteristics of invasive plants is their ability to enhance further invasion by con- and heterospecifics, as well as to limit native recolonization into previously invaded areas.  Invasives can accomplish this through a variety of ways that include the modification of nutrient cycling dynamics, a change of water availability, the attraction of novel herbivores, and an increase in soil acidity. One of the most common ways that invasives enhance further invasion is through the modification of the soil microbiome (the bacterial and fungal community). This has direct relevance for management because if an invasive plant is cultivating a soil microbiome that facilitates future invasion and restricts native...