Dr Stephen Moss has kindly given permission for his useful Wild-oat identification posters to be shared on FarmPEP.
Common wild-oats (Avena fatua) and winter wild-oats (Avena sterilis subsp. ludoviciana) are two major arable weed species in the UK.
The attached leaflet provides an excellent guide to tell the two species apart and the implications of this for optimal management.
Herbicide resistance is the inherited ability of a weed to survive a rate of herbicide which would be lethal to a member of the normal population. It can develop over time based on repeated selection pressure imposed on the weed. This selection pressure changes the population from susceptible to resistant. Herbicide resistance is becoming an increasing problem in UK agriculture, in both grass weeds and broad-leaf weeds. See also the general topic on herbicides.
Grass weeds are a major challenge in UK agriculture and are often highly competitive in arable crops. Some of the most common grass weeds in the UK include: Black-grass (Alopecurus myosuroides), Italian rye-grass (Lolium multiflorum), Brome (Bromus sp.), wild-oats (Avena sp.), Couch grass (Elytrigia repens), annual meadow grass (Poa annua) and Rat's-tail Fescue (Vulpia myuros). You can find specific topic pages for black-grass and brome. See also related topics of: broad-leaved weeds, herbicides, herbicide resistance and integrated weed management
Wild-oats are a highly competitive grass-weed in the UK of which there are two important species: common wild-oats (Avena fatua) and winter wild-oats (Avena sterilis ssp. ludoviciana). Failure to control wild oats in arable fields can lead to high penalties to yield, seed crop contamination, income loss for farmers and reduced competitiveness of UK agriculture. Whilst herbicide resistance selection has been slower in wild-oats compared to other grass weeds such as Black-grass (Alopecurus myosuroides), it is still a growing problem and since this report was published in 2001, resistance has been reported across hundreds of farms across many UK counties. Continuing development of herbicide resistance in wild-oats will limit pesticide choice and possibly lead to a higher dependence on environmentally 'risky' herbicides that are more likely to reach water. The objective of this project was to conduct and collate research on the characterisation of herbicide resistance in wild-oats with the aim of informing strategies for the prevention, containment and control of herbicide resistant populations. Links to the full project are provided at the bottom of the page.
