Preliminary grain yield results for our fall-planted common wheat, triticale, durum wheat and barley trials are now available on the UC Small Grains Research and Information Center website:

http://smallgrains.ucanr.edu/Annual_Variety_Results/Preliminary_2021_Yield_Results/ 

The results are preliminary and may change as samples are cleaned, processed for quality and corrected for variations in moisture content. Final results that...

Common chickweed (Stellaria media) (Figure 1) is a winter annual found throughout California and considered to be one of the most common broadleaf weeds infesting cereal crops (also referred as small grains) in the state (Wilen 2006). Herbicides can provide effective control of chickweed; however, overreliance on a single herbicide (or group of herbicides with the same site of action), is likely to result in resistance to that herbicide (or group of herbicides) (Tranel and Wright 2017). Even though herbicide-resistant common chickweed populations have not been confirmed in California, lack of effective control with post-emergence applications of the ALS-inhibiting herbicides pyroxsulam (Simplicity) and tribenuron (Express...

Looking a little dry out there? 

Dry conditions mean it's good to be cautious about nitrate toxicity in forage crops, particularly small grain hay, grasses, and anything weedy! Nitrates can harm or even kill animals. Growers should test forages and stay vigilant.

Why are dry years more of a concern for nitrate toxicity? Drought conditions in California this year are the worst they've been in decades. Many growers are considering cutting their grain fields for hay, however, that may cause some concerns for ruminant livestock if forage nitrate (NO₃) levels are not monitored closely since drought stress can cause nitrate accumulation in forage...

Concerns about a growing resistance to herbicides

In Mediterranean or arid climates, particularly in areas with marginal soils, crop rotations are often limited to a narrow range of hay, pasture, a handful of winter legumes, or rainy-season grasses. Arid conditions and weathered soils drove Australia's rainfed grain growers to adopt no-till strategies earlier than their counterparts in California. While beneficial from a water use perspective, successful no-till systems depend on herbicides to control weeds that were traditionally kept in check with tillage.

Dependence on herbicides alone in these systems has resulted in weeds with resistance to multiple modes of action. In Australia, there is one...