Foxtail barley has benefited from increased use of reduced tillage. It is a prolific seed producer and has become a growing problem across Western Canada.
Hordeum jubatum is also known as wild barley or other names that compare the weed’s bushy awns to the tails of a number of mammals.
Foxtail barley is often confused with green foxtail because of its similar name, rather than appearance.
Green foxtail has a compact, dense seed head, while foxtail barley has long awns that look more like a brush.
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Foxtail barley has shallow, fibrous roots and relies on seeds to spread.
Saline tolerant, the weed will take over areas where tractors and sprayers fear to tread.
While palatable to livestock early in the season, the spiky awns make the plant immune to grazing for the rest of the season.
Tillage is effective for control. Fall spraying of glyphosate works well for control.
Ahead of seeding, the addition of four grams of tribenuron as a soluble granule to glyphosate will help suppress foxtail.
In season grassy weed products for broadleaf crops, such as quizalofop, are effective for suppression from three leaves to three tillers.
In pastures, propyzamide is applied to soil with high water rates in forage stands ahead of freeze up to deal with the pest in the spring.
