GRDC Update paper: Feathertop Rhodes grass strategies
April 8, 2026
Feathertop Rhodes grass ecology and management. What strategies are working best?
Authors: Richard Daniel (Northern Grower Alliance ), Hanwen Wu (NSW Department of Primary Industries) and Mark Congreve (Independent Consultants Australia Network)
Date: 12 Aug 2020
Take home message
- Feathertop Rhodes grass is well adapted to colonise bare ground (fallows, roadsides)
- Commitment to two summers of 100% control of feathertop Rhodes grass should deplete the seed bank in the soil
- Control strategies require an integrated approach that includes tillage, crop selection, maximising crop competition, residual herbicides and selective use of double knock applications in fallow.
Feathertop Rhodes grass (Chloris virgata) (FTR) continues to be a major problem weed in zero till farming systems in the northern grains region, with populations continuing to expand further south, particularly along road corridors.
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