- Posted by: Gale Perez
From the Western IPM Center November 2019 newsletter...
Looking for Answers as Kochia Rolls Across the West
Kochia is a tumbling weed plaguing growers and ranchers from Central Canada to West Texas.
“It's salt tolerant, heat tolerant, cold tolerant,” said Kent Davis, a crop consultant with Crop Quest in Colorado. “I want to kill the damn stuff, there's no question about it, but you have to admire it at the same time.”
Davis spoke at a recent...
/h3>- Author: Ben Faber
- Posted by: Gale Perez
A new species of gigantic tumbleweed once predicted to go extinct is not only here to stay -- it's likely to expand its territory.
The species, Salsola ryanii, is significantly larger than either of its parent plants, which can grow up to 6 feet tall. A new study from UC Riverside supports the theory that the new tumbleweed grows more vigorously because it is a hybrid with doubled pairs of its parents' chromosomes.
Findings from the study are detailed in a new paper published in the Oxford University-produced journal AoB...
- Author: Travis M. Bean
What happens when two problematic invasive plant species hybridize? In the case of Salsola tragus and S. australis, both widespread and co-occuring, but genetically distinct species commonly referred to as Russian thistle, the result has been a new species, S. ryanii. So far S. ryanii is off to a running start, indicating that it's potentially just as...