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Control of weeds in maize and wheat – Part 6: Herringbone grass

Category: WEED SERIES

Seedling.
Wavy leaves.
U. panicoides and U. Mosambicensis.
Adult plant.

Scientific name: Urochloa panicoides
Afrikaans name: Beesgras
English name: Herringbone grass, Garden urochloa

Description 

An annual tufted grass that can grow up to 90 cm high in favourable conditions. Culms are often decumbent with roots at the lower nodes, spreads outwards from the centre. Leaf sheaths are loosened from the culm, finely striped, hairy (hirtous) with small knobs at the base of the hairs, the ligule is a deep, ciliate edge. Leaves are light green and characteristically wavy (undulate), even as a seedling. Inflorescence consists of 2 to 7 spikes, each up to 6 cm long. Spikelets are in two regular rows, alternately arranged on the anthoclinium, hairless (glabrous), with the lower glumes one third of the length of the spikelet. Seeds (caryopses) are straw-coloured, ovally flattened, with fine ridges across one side, with a short, blunt apex.

Urochloa mosambicensis (Bushveld herringbone grass) also occurs commonly and the difference between species can be seen in the florescence. 

Distribution: 

Herringbone grass can be seen as one of the four “land grasses” due to their wide distribution and common occurrence in most crop species. It seems to prefer clayey soils, but can be a severe competitor on any soil type if the infestation levels is high enough. The grass is distributed through seed and germinate pre-dominantly in early spring.

Control

Cultivation
Timely shallow cultivation can be done in early spring, since seed are shallow germinators and can be one of the first grasses to germinate. 

Chemically
Most pre- and post-emergence grass herbicides can be used to successfully control herringbone grass. When the grass is controlled post-emergence, the applications must be applied as early as possible between the two- to four leaf stages. As soon as the herringbone grass starts to form tufts, control can be less effective. 

TABLE 1: Herbicides registered for the control of herringbone grass in maize

Active ingredient Formula Time of application

acetochlor

700 gram/litre

750 gram/litre

840 gram/litre

900 gram/litre

960 gram/litre

Pre-emergence or early post-emergence of the crop

acetochlor/atrazine/simazine

160/165/165 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, with or just after plant

acetochlor/atrazine/terbuthylazine

125/187,5/87,5 gram/litre

150/225/225 gram/litre

178,6/160,7/160,7 gram/litre

250/225/225 gram/litre

350/175/175 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, with plant, or within days after planting Early post-emergence, not later than four leaf stage of the weed

acetochlor/EPTC

150/350 gram/litre

Pre-emergence of crop and weed

alachlor

384 gram/litre

480 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, with or just after planting

alachlor/atrazine

336/144 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, with or just after planting

atrazine/cyanazine

167/333 gram/litre

250/250 gram/litre

Pre-emergence or early post-emergence

atrazine/mesotrione/s-metolachlor

208,5/26,8/208,5 gram/litre

Pre-emergence of weed and crop

atrazine/metolachlor

300/300 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, within three days after planting

atrazine/s-metolachlor

370/290 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, within three days after planting

atrazine/sulcotrione

300/125 gram/litre

Pre- or post-emergence application

atrazine/terbutryn

250/250 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, with plant or just after planting

dicamba/topramezone

160/50 gram/litre

Early post-emergence, before six leaf stage, use in tank mixture with atrazine or atrazine/terbuthylazine

EPTC

720 gram/litre

Pre-plant, incorporated into soil, consult product label

flumetsulam

200 gram/litre

800 gram/kg

Pre-emergence, use in tank mixture with metolachlor or s-metolachlor

flumetsulam/s-metolachlor

20/630 gram/litre

With plant, or within three days after planting

glyphosate/mesotrione/s-metolachlor

250/25/250 gram/litre

Post-emergence, only on glyphosate tolerant cultivars

mesotrione

480 gram/litre

Pre- or post-emergence. Use only in tank mixtures with atrazine, atrazine/terbuthylazine, s-metolachlor

mesotrione/s-metolachlor

83,3/416,7 gram/litre

Pre-emergence of weed and crop

metolachlor

800 gram/litre

840 gram/litre

915 gram/litre

950 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, within three days after planting

metribuzin

480 gram/litre

Post-emergence when weeds are actively growing, four to six leaf stage

nicosulfuron

240 gram/litre

40 gram/litre

Post-emergence, when crop is in two to six leaf stage

s-metolachlor

915 gram/litre

960 gram/litre

Pre-emergence, within three days after planting

s-metolachlor/terbuthylazine

312,5/187,5 gram/litre

Early post-emergence, in tank mixture with mesotrione

topramezone

336 gram/litre

Early post-emergence, before six leaf stage, use in tank mixture with atrazine or atrazine/terbuthylazine


TABLE 2: Herbicides registered for use on wheat for the control of herringbone grass.

Active ingredient Formula Time of application

trifluralin*

480 gram/litre

Use only in planted fields, dosage depends on weed species

* Please note: Always check on the herbicide label that the specific herbicide is registered for use on the named weed species. Only certain tradenames are registered for the control of herringbone grass.
Only registered herbicides may be used.


Contact the writers at elbe.hugo@syngenta.com (Elbe Hugo) and deweth@arc.agric.za (Hestia Nienaber).