Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The annual meeting was held on March 9th, 2009, in conjunction with the WSWS annual meeting at the Embassy Suites, Albuquerque, NM. Meeting was called to order by Chair Andrew Kniss and Secretary Andy Hulting. Andrew welcomed the group and gave an overview of the meeting agenda. Discussion of Grass Weeds in Wheat website- http://jointedgoatgrass.org. Joe Yenish continues to need the groups help in adding content to this website. The jointed goatgrass portion of the site has a fair amount of information, but authors are needed to fill in scientific content for the other species as well as provide information related to the economic impact of each of the weed species. There was discussion about intent of the website and whether or not the site should be developed as a reference site for public land managers. Most in the group thought that this was not a direction that should be followed and that the focus of the website should remain on invasive grass weeds in wheat-based cropping systems. There was discussion on eventually adding other species to the website including cheat, Japanese brome, rescuegrass and possibly wild oat. The following suggestions on authors to take ownership for particular species were made. Joe Yenish will work with these authors to get content uploaded to the site over time. Joe Yenish-Jointed Goatgrass, Dan Ball-Rattail Fescue, Andy Hulting-Downy Brome, Drew Lyon and Colorado St. Group-Feral Rye. With respect to the jointed goatgrass series of extension publications, Doug Schmale indicated that many paper copies of some of the publications remain and are available for distribution. Contact Doug if there is a need for paper copies. Doug also encouraged those with Extension appointments to coordinate with him to make sure their respective university Extension Communications/Publishing Groups had access and were linking up to electronic versions of the jointed goatgrass publications. Lee Sommers provided information about the current status of the WERA-077 project. Lee informed the group that we must submit an application for renewal of project by May 15 in order to be reviewed. Andrew Kniss and Andy Hulting agreed to compile the necessary state report information and update the renewal application language that is currently posted on the WERA 077 website and to work with Lee on the renewal effort. Three revised objectives for the WERA 077 renewal effort were formalized and approved and currently read as follows: 1. Coordinate research into the discovery, development, and integration of management technologies for controlling invasive weeds in wheat-based cropping systems. 2. Coordinate research regarding the biology, ecology, and herbicide resistance of invasive weeds in wheat, integrating applied, genetic, and molecular approaches. 3. Integrate educational outreach programs and research findings regarding invasive weeds in wheat, targeting producers, crop consultants, grain merchandisers, grain processors, extension personnel, and other scientists. Each member present contributed a brief state report and discussed current research and extension activities related to weed management in wheat. Detailed information related to these activities was later provided by several members and is included below in this report. Andy Hulting provided a summary of the decision on the Italian ryegrass proposal submitted to AFRI last year. The review panel saw several positives in the proposal, and it seems that the proposal is worth revising and resubmitting. Andy will coordinate this group effort in 2009. Joe Yenish informed the group that the letter of intent related to feral rye research was not invited for a full proposal in 2008. The group discussed how the letter could be improved for future submission. However, after much discussion, the group decided not to move forward on resubmitting a letter of intent related to feral rye work without further clarification of research objectives from the group. The group solicited nominations for secretary for the remainder of 2009. Drew Lyon was nominated and the nomination was seconded. The vote was unanimous in favor of Drew Lyon becoming secretary for the remainder of 2009. Andy Hulting moved from secretary to chair at the conclusion of the meeting. Plans for the 2010 Meeting-It was agreed that we should send an announcement about the 2010 meeting to the WSWS membership to be sure everyone interested in participating may make appropriate travel plans, since the meetings will now be held in conjunction with WSWS annual meetings for the near term.

The following information represents a list of project activities, accomplishments and resulting publications and presentations related to invasive weed management in wheat-based cropping systems by individuals from states active in the coordinating committee. Colorado: Colorado continues to maintain a large research program on invasive weeds in winter wheat with a special focus on jointed goatgrass and feral rye. We have a large federal grant funded to evaluate the ancillary DNA that accompanies the Clearfield gene when it moves from Clearfield wheat to jointed goatgrass. This project is designed to help understand issues associated with gene flow from transgenic crops to other plants. Our work with feral rye is focused on trying to understand the impact of vernalization and/or cold stress on the control of feral rye with imazamox in Clearfield wheat. We continue to evaluate herbicides for downy brome control in conventional wheat varieties. Finally, we collaborate with our CSU wheat breeder in the development of new Clearfield wheat varieties including varieties with the double gene Clearfield trait. Kansas: Huskie for broadleaf weed control in winter wheat. Two trials were conducted to evaluate broadleaf weed control and crop tolerance to POST-applied Huskie alone and in combination with MCPA ester, Banvel, or Ally compared to Finesse or Rave. Huskie treatments controlled blue mustard, flixweed, and henbit as well or better than Finesse or Rave. Huskie treatments caused minor crop chlorosis but the wheat recovered. Herbicide treatment increased wheat grain yields significantly. Differences in yield between herbicide treatments were not significant. PowerFlex versus standards in winter wheat. Four trials are summarized as follows: (1) Osprey at 1X use rate caused as much crop response as 2X use rates of PowerFlex, GF-1847, or Olympus. However, grain yield was not adversely affected. Fall POST-applied herbicides were generally more efficacious on flixweed than spring-POST treatments at 41 DA-B, but by DA-B, all herbicides controlled flixweed completely. (2) PowerFlex generally controlled downy brome better than Olympus or Olympus Flex. Fall applications were more effective than spring applications. The addition of AMS or UAN had little or no affect on downy brome control with PowerFlex applied in fall, but UAN increased downy brome control 5% when PowerFlex was applied in spring; AMS did not affect control. PowerFlex stunted wheat less than Olympus Flex. Grain yields did not differ significantly. (3) Fall-applied Maverick controlled downy brome 20-30% better than Olympus, Olympus Flex, or PowerFlex. Regardless of herbicide, delaying application into late fall or spring reduced downy brome by 10 to 25% compared to early fall POST. (4) Mixing AMS, UAN, MCPA or 2,4-D with PowerFlex increased crop response compared to PowerFlex alone. However, when Headline fungicide was added to PowerFlex plus MCPA and AMS, crop response was decreased by 50% compared to the same herbicide treatment without Headline. Crop and weed response to two saflufenacil formulations mixed with 2,4-D amine or bentazon POST in winter wheat. Trials conducted at two locations in each of two years indicated a water dispersible granule (WG) formulation of saflufenacil caused less crop response than an emulsifible concentrate formulation and that foliar crop response was further reduced by tank mixing 2,4-D amine with either formulation. The research showed that safufenacil at the optimum rate of 25 g/ha has potential for POST use in winter wheat without negatively affecting grain yields despite temporary crop response. Saflufenacil mixed with growth regulator herbicides. Trials conducted at two locations in each of two years indicated 25 g/ha of saflufenacil was required in tank-mixtures with dicamba or 2,4-D amine to consistently control flixweed greater than 90%. Saflufenacil at 13 g/ha with COC also effectively controlled blue mustard and flixweed but wheat response tended to be greater compared to saflufenacil plus 2,4-D amine or dicamba. No herbicide treatment adequately controlled henbit (<60%). POST-applied saflufenacil at 13 or 25 g/ha mixed with dicamba or 2,4-D amine caused little leaf necrosis (0 to 13%) or stunting (0 to 9%). Montana: Our research focused on several areas related to weed biology, ecology, and management. Among them: Patterns and functional importance of weed diversity in Montana's cropping system. Although research conducted in non-crop systems suggests that the diversity of plant communities may have important implications for ecosystem services, the ecological relevance of agricultural weed communities is not well understood. During 2008 we concluded our research aimed at assessing the functional importance of weed community structure. Specifically, we evaluated how cropping systems impact weed communities characteristics and how crop-weed competition varies, in turn, with weed density and diversity. Development integrated weed management practices. Although much research on weed management has been focused on reactive single-tactic approaches, weeds represent major burden in agroecosystems in wildlands. Using Canada thistle as a model species,we evaluated how a better understanding of weed biology and ecology can be incorporated into the development of integrated multi-tactic management practices. This research is aimed at 1) gaining insight into Canada thistles vegetative reproductive biology by manipulating roots, moisture, and burial depth and 2) developing an integrated management strategy based on chemical and biological tactics that include the use of insects and plant pathogens. Assessment of multi-trophic pest management interactions in agroecosystems. The evaluation of multi-trophic interactions in agroecosystems is a relatively new research topic. Because these interactions are exceedingly complex, they should be studied through a combination of experimental studies and mathematical modeling. In collaboration with entomologists, plant pathologists, and statisticians we are 1) assessing the role of wheat variety, weed biotype, and stress on virus transmission and crop-weed competitive interactions and 2) determining the joint impact of several easy-to-adopt management practices on the combined management of wheat stem sawfly, Fusarium crown rot, and weeds. Evaluation of new and existing herbicides for weed management and crop safety. Every year, new herbicides and re-formulations of existing products are released into the market. We continue evaluating new and existing herbicides for weed management and crop safety. Nebraska: Two winter annual grass weed control studies were initiated this fall at the High Plains Ag Lab near Sidney. One was a repeat of a 2006-2007 study to investigate the effect of different liquid fertilizer rates as part of the herbicide carrier on the activity of imazaox (Beyond) and imazamox + MCPA ester (Clearmax) on feral rye control. Andrew Kniss is repeating this study at Lingle, WY this year and Phil Westra conducted the study in Colorado in 2007-2008. We hope to be able to publish the results in 2009 or 2010. The second study is looking at pyroxsulam (PowerFlex) for downy brome control in winter wheat. The study compares fall and spring applications of pyroxsulam to sulfosulfuron (Maverick) and propoxycarbazone-sodium (Olympus). Drew Lyon co-authored a paper with Andrew Kniss and Steve Miller, both with the University of Wyoming, on the management of Clearfield wheat technology in winter wheat-fallow cropping systems. This study was partially funded by the national jointed goatgrass initiative. The NebGuide on downy brome control was updated to include information on new herbicides, including PowerFlex and Beyond. The jointed goatgrass best management practices bulletin for the central Great Plains was completed in 2008. This regional bulletin was funded by the national jointed goatgrass initiative and published by Washington State University. Wyoming: Field studies were conducted in winter wheat for control of downy brome. Extremely dry winter weather prevented data collection from fall-applied herbicide treatments in 2008. Spring herbicide treatments of PowerFlex, Olympus, and Olympus flex provided marginal downy brome control, most likely due to the advanced stage of downy brome growth at the time of application. Maverick provided poor control of downy brome. Greenhouse studies were conducted to investigate interaction between imazamox and MCPA-ester for control of feral rye. These studies were initiated in conjunction with Dr. Drew Lyon at the Universtiy of Nebraska based on field studies conducted in Sidney, Nebraska. Preliminary results indicated that MCPA-ester was synergistic with imazamox for control of feral rye. Additional field and greenhouse studies are underway to confirm and elucidate this interaction. These results were presented at the Western Society of Weed Science annual meeting in March, 2009. A six year study on use of imazamox-resistant winter wheat for control of jointed goatgrass was published in the journal Crop Science. This research was a collaboration between the University of Nebraska and University of Wyoming. Results indicated that use of imazamox in imazamox-resistant winter wheat reduced jointed goatgrass density both in the year of application and the following wheat crop. Washington: Various research and extension activities were done in the past year. Grass weed control research included studies evaluating pyroxulam for control of downy brome and other annual weeds along with a study evaluating efficacy and crop safety of mesosulfuron as affected by residual herbicides. There does appear to be elevated crop injury when mesosulfuron is applied under cool conditions with herbicides have an emulsifiable concentrate formulation. Additionally, field research on the development of imazamox resistant jointed goatgrass as affected by Clearfield wheat rotation was concluded during 2008. Dr. Frank Young is currently evaluating the degree of resistance of certain biotypes which survived imazamox applications during the 7 years of the rotation studies. Long-term research was also initiated this past year to develop a data-base of grass weed control and crop yield by an all inclusive list of grass herbicides in winter wheat. The objective is to develop the data base over several years to better allow growers to select grass control herbicides in winter and spring wheat. Extension activities continued in Washington through direct contact with growers at meetings, though various publications, and the expansion of the jointed goatgrass website to include additional grass weed species. Extension publications over the past year included a production on the integrated management of jointed goatgrass in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon: A statewide effort focusing on evaluation of new herbicide products coming to the wheat market over the next few years was undertaken in 2008. These products include saflufenacil (Kixor) from BASF, MAT28 from DuPont, pyroxasulfone (KIH-485) from Kumiai, pyraflufen-ethyl (ET) from Nichino, and florasulam + MCPA (Orion) from Syngenta. In addition, expanded uses for pyrasulfotole + bromoxynil (Huskie), a newly registered HPPD inhibitor broadleaf herbicide with good activity on several broadleaf weeds species including sulfonylurea and imidazolinone resistant weeds, were investigated. Pyroxsulam (PowerFlex) from Dow has recently been registered for grass control in wheat, but with very little data from our area. A new federal label for flufenacet (Define) required demonstrations of product efficacy and crop safety under Oregon environments. During the 2008 field season, there were 8 wheat herbicide studies conducted in western Oregon, and another 15 field trials in eastern Oregon. Eastern Oregon trials focused on improving effectiveness of downy brome control with PowerFlex, PrePare, FarGo, and on interactions between downy brome herbicides with various tank mix combinations. Improved control of feral rye in Clearfield wheat was evaluated for a second year at Moro. Split applications of Beyond at reduced rates can improve control of feral rye, but cost and weed resistance development may be a concern. Several broadleaf herbicide trials were conducted, including evaluations of Vida (ET), Huskie, and experimental, new formulations of 2,4-D. Prickly lettuce control with Huskie may provide needed assistance with that increasing weed problem in eastern Oregon. Wheat varietal injury potential from Osprey herbicide was investigated under eastern Oregon conditions. All wheat varieties tested exihibited injury if Osprey was applied under adverse (cold) conditions. Addition of Bronate increased the potential for wheat injury. Trials on the preplant effectiveness of Sharpen herbicide (BAS 800) in spring and winter wheat were continued. This product use may offer limited utility for spring wheat growers in direct-seed systems. Trials in western focused on improving Italian ryegrass control in winter wheat with preemergence herbicides and evaluation of new broadleaf herbicides, including Huskie, Vida (ET) and new formulations of several sulfonylurea products, in both winter and spring wheat. In western Oregon, preliminary results indicate that pyroxasulfone (KIH-485) applied preemergence or early postemergence can be equally or more effective than Define (flufenacet) applied early postemergence on Italian ryegrass, downy brome, oats and ivy leafed speedwell, but less injurious to winter wheat than Define. Additionally, PowerFlex (pyroxsulam) appears to provide good control of California and downy brome, Italian ryegrass and a wide spectrum of broadleaf weed species. In the second year of studies conducted at the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center near Pendleton, evaluations of herbicide efficacy using an optical sensor controlled spot sprayer (WeedSeeker) were made in chemical fallow systems. In these trials, the dominant broadleaf weed species were tumble pigweed, Russian thistle, and prickly lettuce. Several treatments in combination with reduced rates of glyphosate provided acceptable weed control through the OSC sprayer. Exceptions were bromoxynil (Buctril) and 2,4-D (Unison) in combination with a lower rate of glyphosate, which did not improve control over high rates of glyphosate, alone. At this time, alternatives to glyphosate for fallow weed control with an OSC sprayer appear to exist for the broadleaf weeds encountered at these sites. Continued studies with Sharpen (BAS 800) and Huskie in chemical fallow indicate that these materials may provide improved late-season fallow control of Russian thistle and prickly lettuce when mixed with glyphosate, thereby reducing the reliance on the high rates of glyphosate used alone. Investigations of MAT 28, a DuPont experimental herbicide, indicate a significant problem with carryover to wheat when used the previous season for residual weed control in chemical fallow. Further testing of this experimental compound will be limited due to this finding. Three wheat tolerance trials have been planted each with a different cultivar of wheat. Tubbs 06 was planted as the standard wheat, Goetze, and a cultivar 301 that is near release by the Oregon State University wheat breeding program, were planted to evaluate any potential injury issues. The tolerance trials were treated with 18 herbicide treatments, including registered pre and postemergence treatments as well as new wheat herbicide products, and continue to be evaluated for crop response. Thus far, no injury has been documented on the Goetze or the other two wheat varieties. Extension efforts have been ongoing throughout 2008-09 and have included research update presentations at several industry winter grower meetings and Extension meetings across the state and field tours of research plots at Hyslop farm, and at the Columbia Basin Ag. Research Center. Publication of an Extension bulletin on rattail fescue management and biology is underway. Two Ph.D. students are continuing studies on jointed goatgrass, looking at differences among populations of jointed goatgrass to identify competitiveness traits and survey wheat fields for herbicide resistant hybrids produced by crossing of Clearfield wheat with jointed goatgrass. Several projects are also conducted in cooperation with researchers at Washington State University and the University of Idaho. Combined results from these studies improve the reliability of findings and are complimentary for the broad range of PNW dryland cropping environments.

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