Crop Establishment Vigilance needed in battle


against blackgrass • Worrying development in weed control • Resistance to pre-emergence herbicides • Watch out for other grass weeds as well


G


rowers are advised to keep a close eye on blackgrass and other grass weeds that show signs of resistance to pre-emergence herbicides this autumn.


Experts reported signs that


blackgrass is developing resist- ance to some pre-ems last year. Other grass weed species are de- veloping herbicide resistance too, says weed biology specialist John Cussans of NIAB. With 80% of blackgrass sam- ples from across the country showing resistance to mesosulfu- ron, fenoxaprop and cycloxydim,


the most recent report by the in- dustry-backed Blackgrass Resist- ance Initiative supports findings by ADAS and BASF.


“There is ubiquitous and wide- spread resistance in blackgrass,” says Mr Cussans. “More recent- ly, we’ve confirmation of shifts in flufenacet sensitivity in field pop- ulations too. It’s a very worrying development.” In a study conducted jointly


with BASF, Bayer and Syngenta, a sample of problematic Italian rye-grass showed variable sensi- tivity to fluenacet and pendime- thalin. Some 50% of the sample


had resistance to Axial (pinoxa- den) and Atlantis (mesosulfuron and iodosulfuron).


Monitoring and vigilance “The take-home message here is to keep a close eye on popula- tions of all grass-weeds,” advises Mr Cussans. “There’s no doubt, we’re see- ing a few plants here and there become much bigger patches in fields. If you don’t have these weeds at the moment, it’s well- worth keeping an eye out for them and removing any odd plants that appear.”


Resistance testing blackgrass


seed, mapping populations and monitoring surviving plants will provide the information for de- veloping an effective weed con- trol strategy. Growers should also consider where blackgrass seed is


Blackgrass infestations and herbicide resistance can spread quickly


residing – on the surface or deep- er in the soil.


“Knowing where the pressure is coming from as well as where


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