I have never planted a seed of annual ryegrass in my food plots. They have existed fine for years with no annual ryegrass present. About three years ago, annual ryegrass started making a pretty strong showing in my food plots, and now, all of them are solid annual ryegrass this time of year. The clover is still there, and wheat is there from my fall planting - but they look like a sea of annual ryegrass. There is now a herbicide that will kill annual ryegrass in wheat. It is fairly expensive and I am not sure you would ever get completely rid of it based upon the amount of seed it puts out. Has anyone else been inundated with annual ryegrass - and if you were - did you try to do anything about it.
Annual Rye Grass in Food Plots?
- Thread starter SwampCat
- Start date
Triple C
5 year old buck +
Yes. Same story as you. Early years we (big mistake), used annual ryegrass on all the new interior roads we put in across the property. As you said, today you see a sea of annual ryegrass along with the cereal grains from fall plantings. We have not done anything to eliminate. Just plant our fall mix and know that we will have rye grass in the plots as well.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
I'd forget about the wheat and spray clethodim. Spray once, seed in some annual clover to make up the empty spots, then spray again. Clethodim has residual effects on seedling like clover I believe. Clover might not be the best one, specially if you have a hot n dry summer in your area. but, atleast it's cooperative with the clethodim. Could spray, then buckwheat a week or two afterwards. If the clover isn't too stressed right now, could add some gly to the clethodim spray too. Clethodim need surfacant added to it, which irritates the clover some.
There folks better versed on here, but my guess is your going to need more than one clethodim treatment, so adding clover or maybe brassicas that can handle your summer might be good choice. you can always go back to grains for your fall planting.
Triplce C mentioned his source. Make sure you dont have something nearby produceing the seed. Might want to nuke hedgerow areas and fallow spots with gly. Even a little patch under a tree will make it wander back. Likely upstream from prevailing winds might be a good place to spot, or closer to where it started a few years back.
There folks better versed on here, but my guess is your going to need more than one clethodim treatment, so adding clover or maybe brassicas that can handle your summer might be good choice. you can always go back to grains for your fall planting.
Triplce C mentioned his source. Make sure you dont have something nearby produceing the seed. Might want to nuke hedgerow areas and fallow spots with gly. Even a little patch under a tree will make it wander back. Likely upstream from prevailing winds might be a good place to spot, or closer to where it started a few years back.
Do you think it is going to kill it out for good - or just this year. It will die by itself in a month, anyway
Exact same situation as you. I have rye grass all over my farm including food plots.Its the plague of the south. I have tried for years to get rid of it unsuccessfully by spraying clethodium. I was successful at thinning it out enough to keep it from choking everything else out but never eliminating it. If you ever let it go to see even once your toast. Mowing helps thin it out some but doesn't terminate. My bottom line suggestion is, as above, multiple cleth treatments prior to it going to seed understanding it will kill small grains as well.
Now, just for chuckles, as you may know I have brought cows to my farm. As we sit here now they are going thru the plots eating every seed head off every rye grass plant out there. While I do not expect this to terminate the rye grass , at least it releases the clover, chicory, plantain etc that could easily be choked out by the way rye grass matts when it dies and lays down. Small victory
Now, just for chuckles, as you may know I have brought cows to my farm. As we sit here now they are going thru the plots eating every seed head off every rye grass plant out there. While I do not expect this to terminate the rye grass , at least it releases the clover, chicory, plantain etc that could easily be choked out by the way rye grass matts when it dies and lays down. Small victory
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
Likely wont kill it for good. Stuff is tough, thats why its used everywhere. It may of made it's way into your plot early on, or when it didnt have much competition.
Do you want the wheat to go to seed? I have used rye blends, the deer do eat the ones I planted. They prefer the seed heads.
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
Are you at all concerned about vomitoxin from the annual rye?
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
Unfortunately, we have started seeing it here too. To add insult to injury, I think we even brought it in on the first bags of food plot seed we ever bought (Grab an throw, I believe). It's crazy companies are even permitted to add it to seed mixes.
We have tried numerous apps of clethodim on it, but it is more or less just throwing money away. I think you have to thin it down, and get a perennial on it as soon as possible afterwards. I am just waiting till we can kill the whole plot and transition to something else for a few years. That might not even be enough for the amount of seed in the soil. .
We have tried numerous apps of clethodim on it, but it is more or less just throwing money away. I think you have to thin it down, and get a perennial on it as soon as possible afterwards. I am just waiting till we can kill the whole plot and transition to something else for a few years. That might not even be enough for the amount of seed in the soil. .
I dont care if the wheat heads and seeds in my deer plots - the wheat needs to to to seed in my dove plots. I cant even get a tractor and sprayer to half my plots now due wet ground in the bottoms.
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
On one of my first plots, I bought some seed from Grampa Rays, it had "High Sugar Rye Grass" in it. I will admit, the deer do eat it, but you cant kill it. I have even tried winter rye heavily in this area, after spraying the rye grass, thinking the winter rye will use up the available nitrogen, and it would weaken the rye grass, no such luck. I have it pretty much contained to about 1/3 of my food plot, but I havent really knocked it back at all. Comes back like a carpet the next year.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
I'm on the war path...We have a pipeline running through our pine farm and it contains a large portion of our food plots. The pipeline company did some kind of work this year and dug in spots and used a horizontal drill in others. They did not save and reapply the top soil and seeded it with a contractor mix that has both annual rye and fescue. I need to get out there with gly before it gets established!
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
Annual Ryegrass | NC State Extension Publications
This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of annual ryegrass.
content.ces.ncsu.edu
Check out figure 9 in the link above. Annual ryegrass will have clasping auricles.
If I was a betting man I would say that the photo above is not a annual rygrass. It looks like there are some creeping rhizomes in spots. Annual ryegrass is a bunch type grass but only spreads by tillers.
I'm a beef producer first and hunter second. Have never been anal about species in my foodplots... but I've been including annual ryegrass - along with wheat, occasionally rye, rarely oats, and various clovers, in foodplots for over 45 years. Annual ryegrass may be an issue for some of y'all, but not for me. But... I'll admit up front, that in most cases, after the end of hunting season and before things headed out, we usually opened the gates and allowed the cows to graze foodplots - sometimes multiple times. Did I get some 'volunteer' ryegrass the next fall, when I replanted? Yes; but I welcomed it. YMMV.
Some confusion invariably arises in these threads, as some folks don't know the difference between (winter/cereal) rye and annual ryegrass... or, other knowledgeable folks say 'annual rye', when they mean 'annual ryegrass', adding to the confusion potential. The two are not the same...
Vomitoxin can form in grain crops, like wheat and (cereal) rye... but to my knowledge, it is not an issue with annual ryegrass. Have never noticed deer feeding on the mature grain heads of wheat or rye, and vomitoxin is not present in the foliage... only in the grains. I suppose it could be an issue for turkeys or other birds feeding on the seed after maturation.
I have no experience feeding vomitoxin-contaminated grain to poultry, but in cattle & hogs, the only significant issue is feed refusal... and thus, lowered rate of gain.
Some confusion invariably arises in these threads, as some folks don't know the difference between (winter/cereal) rye and annual ryegrass... or, other knowledgeable folks say 'annual rye', when they mean 'annual ryegrass', adding to the confusion potential. The two are not the same...
Vomitoxin can form in grain crops, like wheat and (cereal) rye... but to my knowledge, it is not an issue with annual ryegrass. Have never noticed deer feeding on the mature grain heads of wheat or rye, and vomitoxin is not present in the foliage... only in the grains. I suppose it could be an issue for turkeys or other birds feeding on the seed after maturation.
I have no experience feeding vomitoxin-contaminated grain to poultry, but in cattle & hogs, the only significant issue is feed refusal... and thus, lowered rate of gain.
Deer will eat every one of my awned wheat heads. I havent decided yet if I like or dont like annual ryegrass. I think it will provide some shading for the clover if it stands erect, because I believe it will all be dead here in a month. I dont think I am going to fight it. I dont know it it smothers other grasses - like wheat. I rely on wheat seed to draw doves - so I dont want that. Not sure I could get rid of it now without going all out war on it.
