This Arable Extra discusses options for management of ryegrass weeds, with particular reference to herbicide resistance and integrated weed management.
Key points
- Annual and Italian ryegrasses (Lolium multiflorum) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), while an important part of New Zealand pasture systems, can also be problematic weeds in arable crops, particularly cereals.
- An integrated weed management approach is required to control ryegrass weeds, especially as populations of these species across New Zealand are resistant to commonly used herbicide Mode-of-Action (MoA) groups such as Group 1 and 2.
- Rotating MoAs is essential and FAR herbicide screening trials provide information on the efficacy of a range of herbicides with different MoAs for use on ryegrass weeds.
- A range of non-chemical ryegrass weed management practices can be used in an Integrated Weed Management (IWM) approach.