Italian Ryegrass (Lolium Multiflorum) Management Options in Winter Wheat in Oklahoma

An experiment was conducted at three sites in central Oklahoma to compare the efficacy of Italian ryegrass management options in no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) winter wheat. The Italian ryegrass management options included selected herbicide treatments, wheat-for-hay, and a rotation consisting of double-crop soybean seeded immediately after wheat harvest, followed by early season soybean, and then by wheat. In continuous wheat, before application of glyphosate or tillage, Italian ryegrass plant densities in mid-September were 12,300 to 15,000 plants/m2 in NT plots vs. 0 to 500 plants/m2 in CT plots. When applied POST, diclofop controlled more Italian ryegrass than tralkoxydim or sulfosulfuron. In continuous wheat, yields were greater in CT plots than in NT plots at two of three sites. None of the Italian ryegrass management options consistently reduced Italian ryegrass density in the following wheat crop. Of the Italian ryegrass control strategies applied to continuous wheat, three herbicide treatments in NT at Chickasha and all treatments in NT at Perry reduced Italian ryegrass density in the following wheat crop. Italian ryegrass plant density in November and spike density were highly related to wheat yield at two and three sites, respectively. No management options were more profitable than rotation to soybean. Nomenclature: Diclofop, sulfosulfuron, tralkoxydim, Italian ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam. LOLMU, soybean, Glycine max L, winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L