Unlike some of its cousins, such as Canada thistle, nodding thistle nearly always begins from a seed, which grows to the height of a person — one with an agreeable personality because once it gets its purple hairdo, it starts nodding. Each one of those big purple flowers can contain up to 250 seeds, and […] Read more
Tag Archives Weed of the Week Archive
Weed of the Week: wild buckwheat
Wild buckwheat climbs the ladder of crop pest importance as the season passes. Alberta farmers say in polling it is their least favourite weed. It can be tough to kill, degrades grain and oilseed samples, messes up harvests and will trip up the odd field scout. The ropy pest can prompt grain buyers to refuse […] Read more
Weed of the Week: kochia
Kochia, despite being identified as one of the most dangerous weeds in the West, remains a growing problem in the region. Droughty conditions have allowed this tough competitor to flourish, even if it is only a few plants making it to maturity at the field corners or on the fence lines, where it often ends […] Read more
Weed of the Week: saltcedar
My great aunt farmed for her whole career. She used to say, “a sharp hoe is as good as a rain any day.” And there are weeds where no registered chemistry is available, or that can be applied in riparian areas so removal is one of the only options. Saltcedar is one of those, and […] Read more
Weed of the week: redroot pigweed
As the weather warms up, redroot pigweed can become a serious problem for some crops that aren’t strong competitors. Worse yet, amaranthus retroflexus, a dicot weed in the Amaranthaceae family, is developing resistance, or appears to at least have become harder to control with Group 2 chemistries. In Ontario it has become resistant to Group […] Read more
Weed of the Week: cleavers
Cleavers have become a constant in the northern grain belt of Western Canada and pose significant threats to canola yield and quality. The pest’s ability to operate as either a winter annual, getting up early in the spring as toughened, established competitor or as a spring-germinated weed. First, the good news. If the fall is […] Read more
Weed of the Week: foxtail barley
Some weeds have flourished with the increase in no-till acres over the past 20 years. One of them is foxtail barley, known to biologists as hordeum jubatum. It has become an increasing concern after our series of wetter years and with the expansion of saline-affected soils. Foxtail barley tolerates the saline conditions that occur once […] Read more
Weed of the Week: cleavers
Last week I addressed a weed that I called the scourge of the south. For more northern grain belt farmers, this week I will discuss the scourge of the north, more commonly known as cleavers. Just as we saw a significant increase in the acres infested with kochia, we have seen cleavers spread across agricultural […] Read more
Weed of the Week: kochia
I would like to discuss two weeds over the next couple of weeks. One I will refer to as the scourge of the south and the other as the scourge of the north. Unluckily, I have worked in an area where the two come together so have experience with both. The scourge of the south […] Read more
Weed of the Week: shepherd’s purse
Reducing tillage has increased cash flow, boosted bottom lines and improved soil health. One of the downsides has been minor weeds becoming major problems. Some fall annual weeds have thrived where steel now fails to find them. Worse, pests like shepherd’s purse have managed to escape some of the handiest herbicides, such as Group 2 […] Read more
