YELLOW FOXTAIL— GREEX FOXTAIL— WILD OATS 23 



from greenish yellow, or straw color, to dark brown. On the oval 

 side of the seed a greenish scale extends one-half the length of the 

 seed. The oval is more or less roughed with cross ridges. This is 

 a very common weed, but not a very bad one. 



This weed flowers from June to September, but usually ripens 

 its seeds in July. It thrives in all parts of Minnesota and in nearly 

 all soils, doing best in rich soil. It is a common garden weed, but 

 its seeds are found in grass and clover seeds and in all cereal seeds. 

 It is very common in millet from some varieties of which it can hardly 

 be separated with the ordinary cleaning apparatus. 



Eradication. — Yellow foxtail frequently springs up in cultivated 

 crops and matures soon after cultivation ceases. These plants should 

 be pulled or hoed out to prevent the seed from shattering on the land. 

 If the seed matures, it should be removed from seed grain as perfectly 

 as possible. 



This weed will yield to short rotations and frequent thorough 

 cultivation. The plants are easily smothered when young. The 

 early use of the harrow in cultivated crops will destroy most of the 

 plants. Where a crop of seed has ripened and shattered out, the 

 seeds may be covered by discing. This will induce germination and 

 the plants can be destroyed by plowing or cultivation. 



Green Foxtail (Chaetochloa viridis L. Xashj 



Other common names. — Pigeon grass, bottle grass. 



Description. — This grass is very similar to yellow foxtail. It 

 grows somewhat taller and its branches are not quite so spreading. 

 It seeds earlier than yellow foxtail and the flowering head is some- 

 what longer and more bristly. The bristles are longer and are green 

 in color instead of yellow. The seed is smaller and is often entirely 

 covered with a straw colored covering. The seed has the same 

 variations in color that were noted in yellow foxtail, except that the 

 brown seeds are often mottled in appearance. No cross ridges appear 

 on the seed. In other respects the statements made in connection 

 with yellow foxtail apply to this weed which is closely related to it, 

 but is probably even more common than yellow foxtail. 



Eradication. — See yellow foxtail. 



Wild Oats (Avena fatna L.) 



Description. — Wild oats closely resemble our cultivated varieties 

 of oats. Possibly they are the source from which our oats came. 

 The plant grows from two to four feet high and is commonly found 

 in fields of oats, barlev, wheat, and rye. It ripens somewhat earlier 



