Increasing Importance and Control of Mayweed Chamomile in Forage Crops¹

Abstract

Mayweed chamomile (Anthemis cotula L.) is a cool-season annual weed that germinates during March and matures by mid-May in the southeastern United States. The economic importance of this weed in the pasture ecosystem has not been determined. The objectives of this study were: (i) to determine the forage quality of mayweed chamomile foliage; (ii) to survey the potential allelopathic influence of mayweed chamomile tissue extract on the development of certain forage species; and (iii) to evaluate herbicides for the control of this weed. The in vitro dry matter digestibility of mayweed ch,amomile ranged from 630 to 790 g kg-•, with the highest values residing in foliage harvested during the vegetative stage of plant development. Results of laboratory bioassays and growth chamber experiments indicated that water extracts of mayweed chamomile leaf material are potentially allelopathic to alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) seedlings. Leaf tissue mixed in potting soil significantly reduced alfalfa and Italian ryegrass plant development. The extract and tissue concentrations used in this research were estimated to be similar to concentrations expected to occur within the pasture ecosystem. Paraquat (1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'bipyridinium ion) at 0.6 kg a.i. ha-• and glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) at 1.2 and 2.4 kg a.i. ha-• controlled mayweed chamomile in sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata (Dumont) G. Don) and bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) forage systems.

Effect of Aqueous Leaf Leachate of Anthemis cotula– An Alien Invasive Species on Germination Behaviour of Some Field Crops

“…B. campestris , V. radiata , T. aestivum and A. cotula , and the effect is dose dependent (Tables 2 and 3). These results are in conformity with the earlier reports of allelopathy in A. cotula (Smith 1987, 1990). Many other species of Asteraceae, like Ageratum conyzoides (Singh et al.…”

“…B. campestris, V. radiata, T. aestivum and A. cotula, and the effect is dose dependent (Tables 2 and 3). These results are in conformity with the earlier reports of allelopathy in A. cotula (Smith 1987(Smith , 1990. Many other species of Asteraceae, like Ageratum conyzoides (Singh et al 2003b), Conyza albida (Economou et al 2002) and Helianthus annuus (Batish et al 2002), are also known to exhibit allelopathic activity.…”

Germination ecology of invasive alien Anthemis cotula helps it synchronise its successful recruitment with favourable habitat conditions

“…The present study shows that fresh achenes of A. cotula exhibit dormancy, whereas achenes more than 1 year old readily germinate over a wide range of conditions. Similar observation has been made earlier by Smith (1987, 1990) in this species. Seeds of many other plant species are also dormant at maturity and initially are not able to germinate under a broad set of environmental conditions.…”

Mayweed chamomile (Anthemis cotula L.) biology and management—A review of an emerging global invader

“…It can affect perennial habitats and annual crops, especially cereal‐based systems such as those in northern Idaho and eastern Washington of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) USA (Gealy et al , 1985; Smitchger et al , 2012; Tautges et al . , 2017), southeastern USA (Smith, 1987; Elmore et al , 1995), Michigan (Kells, 1989) and the Canadian prairie provinces (USDA‐NRCS, 2018; UBC, 2019). It is a declared noxious weed in Colorado and Nevada (USDA‐NRCS, 2018) USA and was listed as a noxious weed in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria, Australia in the early 20th century (Procter, 1926; also see Parsons and Cuthbertson, 1992).…”

“…Anthemis cotula is ecologically and economically deleterious in invaded rangelands and agroecosystems (Gealy et al , 1985; Smith, 1987, 1990; Kells, 1989; Ogg et al , 1994; Ziada et al , 2014). In invaded rangelands and pastures, A. cotula contaminates and degrades forage quality (Kingsbury, 1964; Smith, 1987) and can cause tainted milk (Procter, 1926). As a weed in annual crops, A. cotula reduces yields and its seeds can contaminate harvests (Kay, 1971a; Allaie et al , 2006; Smitchger et al , 2012).…”