Controlling Noxious Weeds and Improving Seed Quality in Established Forage Legume Seed Crops
Project Objectives: SFSDC wanted to demonstrate the importance of controlling Noxious and hard to control weeds such as cleavers and wild oats in established forage legume seed crops. The project used registered herbicides, including those registered under the minor use registration program, for weed control.
Project Rationale: Forage seed growers in Saskatchewan list weed control as their number one production problem. There are very few herbicides registered for use on established forage legume seed crops. Herbicide manufacturers do not provide company organized demonstrations of their products on forage legume seed crops. Weeds in established forage legume seed crops sometimes go untreated and yield and seed quality suffer. Weeds, including hard- to-control species such as cleavers, Canada thistle and wild oats can cause significant yield losses and be deterrents to the production of these crops. Under The Seeds Act, seed lots must meet the standards of seed purity. Lots containing those weeds designated as Noxious can cause the seedlot to be rejected, rendering it not saleable. Producers must aim to produce seed lots of high quality to meet market requirements and receive higher prices. The benefit of this project is to demonstrate the importance of controlling weeds during the seed production year.