Weeds in wheat and other winter cereals: Identification, emergence periods and control methods for the most common weeds.
The most problematic weeds in winter cereals come from winter grasses like:
- Ryegrass
- Vulpine
- Bromegrass
Emergence period: All year, peaking in the autumn, and regular emergence until the spring.
Controlling weeds in wheat and winter cereal crops
The main difficulties with weed control in winter cereal crops (wheat, barley, triticale, etc.) concern autumn grasses such as vulpine, ryegrass, and bromegrass.
Weeding should mainly be carried out in the autumn or spring, and should be combined with agronomic techniques such as stale seeding or delaying the sowing date in order to reduce weed growth in the crop.
Given the increasing resistance to spring herbicides, it is now more effective to target weeds in the autumn, with an efficient chemical product.
If conditions allow, start with mechanical weeding in the autumn, after emergence, alongside a herbicide treatment. In the spring, there are more opportunities for mechanical weeding, which has very positive results for crop growth (soil aeration, tillering, etc.) but can be less effective in terms of weed control.