Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 June 2017
Ethofumesate [(±)-2-ethoxy-2,3-dihydro-3,3-dimethyl-5-benzofuranyl methanesulfonate] was evaluated in field experiments at rates from 0.6 to 4.5 kg/ha for control of volunteer wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Hyslop’, ‘Stephens’) in fall-planted perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. ‘Cropper’, ‘Pelo’, ‘Pennfine’, ‘Omega’). Ethofumesate applied at 1.7 kg/ha or more in mid-November to wheat in the one-to three-leaf stage eliminated the wheat. Wheat was not eliminated when ethofumesate was applied preemergence soon after planting or when applied at the end of November to wheat in the four-leaf to four-tiller stage. In four experiments in which wheat was present, ethofumesate significantly increased perennial ryegrass seed production. In one experiment in which wheat was not present, ethofumesate did not affect perennial ryegrass seed production. Ethofumesate applied in the fall at rates to 4.5 kg/ha to newly-seeded perennial ryegrass or to well-established bentgrass (Agrostis tenuis Sibth. ‘Highland’), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L. ‘Newport’), and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) did not adversely affect germination of the following seed crop.