Every week we ask you to identify a weed from a few distinguishing features on our Facebook and Twitter pages! This week for #WeedIDWednesday we asked you about one of the most common annual weeds to find in your fields. Let’s see if you can ID this weed from just a description!
Here’s the clue we gave you:
Happy #WeedIDWednesday! This weed is a member of the Amaranthaceae family; it’s a common weed that can be found in both vegetable and row crops. The stem of this week is covered in short, dense hairs, and this weed has a short dense seed head. Any guesses as to what it could be?
What was your guess? If you’re familiar with common agricultural weeds in Ontario, you probably guessed that this weed was Redroot Pigweed! Identification between members of the Amaranthaceae family can be difficult; hairiness of plants is a great clue!
If left alone throughout the growing season, one plant is able to produce up to 100,000 seeds, meaning large infestations are possible if weed management isn’t put in place.
Here’s a fun fact for you: In China, redroot pigweed is cropped and used for the production of a flour!
Stay tuned for next week’s #WeedIDWednesday post, and follow along on our Facebook and Twitter pages so you don’t miss out!
Featured Image: UC ANR
Additional Sources: Western Producer