Barnyard Grass

Echinochloa crus-galli

Barnyard Grass (Echinochloa crus-galli), an annual grass weed of the Poaceae family.

Family: Poaceae
Growth habit: Grass
Life cycle: Annual
Invasive status: Naturalized, widespread
Native region: Eurasia, now a cosmopolitan weed of wet agriculture worldwide.
Reproduction: Seed - a heavy seeder that closely mimics young rice seedlings, making early identification difficult.

Environment

Habitat & Growing Conditions

Habitat: Rice paddies, irrigated fields, wet or disturbed ground.
Climate requirements: Warm season grass; thrives in hot, wet conditions.
Soil types: Prefers moist to waterlogged soils, especially flooded rice fields.

Impact

Affected crops: Rice (its single most damaging weed globally), maize, sugarcane, soybean
Competition impact: In rice, heavy infestations can cause yield losses of 40-80% by out-competing seedlings for light and nutrients in flooded conditions.
Economic impact: Widely regarded as the world's most economically damaging weed of rice.

Management

Control methods: Water management (flooding depth) in rice, stale seedbeds, and rotation with dryland crops.
Organic control: Hand weeding, mechanical weeders in rice paddies, and maintaining a deep flood layer to suppress germination.
Chemical control: Pre- and post-emergent grass herbicides used in rice systems; resistance to several herbicide classes has been documented in long-cropped rice areas.

🌿 Weed

ANX-WEED-0000252

Echinochloa crus-galli

Barnyard Grass (Echinochloa crus-galli), an annual grass weed of the Poaceae family.

Family: Poaceae
Growth habit: Grass
Life cycle: Annual
Invasive status: Naturalized, widespread
Native region: Eurasia, now a cosmopolitan weed of wet agriculture worldwide.
Reproduction: Seed - a heavy seeder that closely mimics young rice seedlings, making early identification difficult.

Environment

Habitat: Rice paddies, irrigated fields, wet or disturbed ground.
Climate requirements: Warm season grass; thrives in hot, wet conditions.
Soil types: Prefers moist to waterlogged soils, especially flooded rice fields.

Impact

Affected crops: Rice (its single most damaging weed globally), maize, sugarcane, soybean
Competition impact: In rice, heavy infestations can cause yield losses of 40-80% by out-competing seedlings for light and nutrients in flooded conditions.
Economic impact: Widely regarded as the world's most economically damaging weed of rice.

Management

Control methods: Water management (flooding depth) in rice, stale seedbeds, and rotation with dryland crops.
Organic control: Hand weeding, mechanical weeders in rice paddies, and maintaining a deep flood layer to suppress germination.
Chemical control: Pre- and post-emergent grass herbicides used in rice systems; resistance to several herbicide classes has been documented in long-cropped rice areas.