The Relative Rate of Root Development of Cheatgrass and Medusahead

Plant–soil relationships of the invasive annual grass Taeniatherum caput-medusae: a reciprocal transplant experiment

“…This species is generally thought to be unpalatable to grazing animals (Lusk et al 1961), but will be consumed when green (Miller et al 1999). Once invaded, however, rangeland livestock carrying capacity can be reduced by 50% (Hironaka 1961). Herbicides for the control of T. caput-medusae are available, but are expensive and continual application is necessary for long-term suppression.…”

Selection of alfalfa genotypes for resistance to the foliar pathogen Curvularia geniculata

“…The low total dry matter production was associated with the high incidence of invasive plants present in the alfalfa crop, due to the fact that no chemical or mechanical weed control was used. North America annual grasslands heavily infested with medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski) have been reported to show reductions in livestock carrying capacity of as much as 75 % to 80 % (Major et al 1960, Hironaka 1961, George 1992, reinforcing the need to select forage plants with higher competitiveness. In our research, the correlation between total dry matter and invasive plants was negative and significant (p< 0.005).…”

Fiscal Year 2012 Revegetation Assessment

“…Cheatgrass also has greater top-growth yields per unit water used compared to summer-growing perennial grasses. This high wateruse efficiency is partly due to early season growth, when transpiration rates are low (Hironaka 1961, Hulbert 1955). …”