Notes in the Margins: Agronomy and Weed Science Musings

NOTE: A graduate student at CSU Fresno is looking to describe the geographic distribution of alkaliweed in California. Please see the end of the article for a link to a QUICK survey describing where YOU have encountered this species.

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is an annual grass that can sometimes behave as a biennial or short-lived perennial in California. The species is upright in habit (to about 3 feet in height); seeds germinate in the late fall and the plants grow vigorously through the winter and early spring.

Are you a grower interested in adopting soil moisture monitoring practices, drip or low pressure irrigation systems, and pump retrofits (among many other tools and strategies) to reduce on-farm water and energy use?

You just KNOW that some plants are considered weeds. Their common names give them away. They sound awful. Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus). Devil's claw (Proboscidea lutea). Smellmelon (Cucumis melo). Itchgrass (Rottboellia cochinchinensis).

Part of my role as a University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor is extending knowledge to my clientele and the public at large. One tool for accomplishing this task is the bi-annual publication of a the Agronomy and Weed Science Newsletter.