Cheat Grass Solution Now Available Commercially

Invasive noxious weeds are a bane to ranchers and farmers, cheat grass, medusa head and jointed goat grass can displace native range land grasses as well as cereal crops. USDA ARS Soil Scientist Ann Kennedy has been researching a naturally occurring microbe that eliminates only weeds, not the desired crop or native grasses. Her research has now moved to the commercial business place. BioWest Ag Solutions is now selling a proprietary bioherbicide to fight noxious weeds. BioWest’s Dave Lister shares more details on how this microbe works
Lister: “We’ve identified probably the biggest challenge with this technology is managing expectations. It’s a suppressive bacteria and it will go in and colonize in the soil. It host on the roots of all growing plants — but specifically on cheat grass, medusa head and jointed goat grass. It limits elongation of root cells in those particular plants. So what it does is basically levels the playing field. It stunts the roots and limits its top growth and allows your desirables to out compete cheat grass for a change. And if you understand cheat grass and those other things — it has a built-in advantage that we can take away. That is the mode of action for this bacteria.”
There is a bit of a challenge in logistics as these are live bacteria so they can’t be put on shelf until it is convenient for rancher to apply them to their rangeland or pastures. Lister continues
Lister: “Fall is the best window of application where the temperatures are cool and there is lots of moisture. These little bacteria need moisture and food — so we get in the soil and use Mother Nature’s magic between snow and rain to get in to the soil.”

 

You can find your closest dealer at BioWest.ag for more information.