Bindweed

Fallopia convolvulus

Bindweed is a problem weed in many cropping areas, especially northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. Highly competitive with crops, it has always been hard for herbicides to control once it gets to the 2-leaf stage. Control is now made more difficult by wider crop row spacing (reducing crop competition) and developing resistance to older chemistry.

Description

Bindweed grows in twining stems up to a metre long. Its leaves are arrow-shaped with a prominent mid-vein and edged with small shallow rounded ‘teeth’.

Bindweed flowers are greenish-white and its seed is dull black, triangle and 4–5 mm long.

Control

Crop choice is crucial. With no chemical control options in pulse crops, they should not be sown while bindweed remains a problem.

In cereal crops, both Velocity® and Precept® provide an alternative mode of action with no developed resistance.

Related Pests

Capeweed

Arctotheca calendula

Capeweed is widespread throughout the southern cropping regions. Very little rain is needed to germinate capeweed seeds, so plants can emerge following ‘false breaks’ in early autumn and grow large before crops are sown.

Wild Radish - Charlock

Raphanus raphanistrum

Wild radish or Charlock (Raphanus raphanistrum) is a rapidly spreading, invasive, frost hardy plant found throughout New Zealand, except in Taranaki. Annual or biennial, it is usually found growing on roadsides, waste grounds and disturbed ground. It grows to 80 cm tall, and during October to April has white yellow or lilac flowers 15-20 mm with 4 petals. The leaves and stems are dark green, rough and bristly. Pods develop up to 6 cm long, containing 5 to 8 seeds which can break into individual sections.

Indian hedge mustard

Sisymbrium orientale

Indian hedge mustard is found in the cropping areas of Western Australia, northern and western New South Wales and southern Queensland. Its seeds are included in the ‘small foreign seeds’ fraction of allowable grain contaminants.