Avena sterilis L.

Code

AVEST

Growth form

Grass

Biological cycle

Annual

Habitat

Terrestrial

Algeria: Avena sterilis germinates in autumn-winter; flowering takes place from April to May.

Avena sterilis is an annual plant (therophyte). It multiplies by seed.

Avena sterilis multiplies by seeds with ridges that twist under the effect of moisture (hygroscopic action) allowing them to sink into the soil.

Avena sterilis is a clithochorous species (spread over a very short distance).

Avena sterilis can grow up to 2 m high.

Grass

Avena sterilis subsp. sterilis can easily be confused with Avena sterilis subsp. ludoviciana and differs from it in that its spikelets are longer than 30 mm. On the other hand, it differs from A. byzantina, whose spikelet is not articulated by a callus at the base of the first floret, and from the non-geniculate-awned lemmas, and from A. barbata and A. fatua, whose spikelet rachis is articulated between all florets.

A. sterilis has many variable types that appear to be neither wild nor cultivated forms, which have arisen from crosses between different Avena species.

Avena sterilis is a C3 species.

Algeria: Avena sterilis is a very common species in all types of annual and perennial crops in Algeria, but mainly in cereal crops, which is confirmed by the profusion of vernacular names. Preference for silty, clayey-silty or marly soils whose high water retention capacity is compensated by a richness in pebbles which facilitates drainage.

Toxicity

Avena sterilis is an allergenic pollen plant.

Algeria: Avena sterilis is a major "weed". It is one of the most harmful species of field crops because it can colonise practically all ecological environments (very frequent species), moreover its great adaptation to the agricultural environment gives it a very important potential of invading plots (very abundant species). It is a typical species of intensified cereals and its size, which often exceeds the cereals, and its very high density make it one of the most harmful grasses. Although many panicles clearly outgrow the wheat, an estimate of the intensity of infestation can only be approximate, as many small accessory culms on the one hand and main culms of late developed plants on the other remain "hidden" in the wheat. This also explains why hand or machine pollarding to prevent it from producing seeds only partially reduces its populations, and may even cause the emergence of new shoots. The infestation caused by the primary seeds occurs mainly during the first growing season after seed drop, whereas the secondary and tertiary seeds, which form in smaller numbers, do not germinate until years later due to their more pronounced dormancy. The possibility of germinating deeper (20 cm), the staggered emergence from autumn to the end of winter and the diversity of the developmental stage of the individuals explain on the one hand its presence in all crops, and on the other hand the difficulty of its elimination during cultivation.

Feed : The Latin name Avere means to desire, an allusion to its character as a good fodder plant.

Local control

Algeria: the false seeding technique, a destocking technique, which was especially developed to limit weed infestation in winter cereals is not really efficient for the control of Avena sterilis which is able to germinate until the end of the winter and in depth. High straw cereal varieties sown at high density compete better with this species. Tolerances to iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium and mesosulfuron-methyl have been reported in Iran, but active ingredients such as clodinafop-propargil + cloquintocet-mexyl, diclofopmethyl + fenoxaprop-p-ethyl + mefenpyr-diethyl, clodinafop-propargil, diclofopmethyl, sulfosulfuron, pinoxaden + cloquintocet-methyl, pinoxaden + clodinafop-propargyl, popaquizafop, bentazone, glufosinate ammonium, etc. continue to control adult weeds.

Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Avena%2520sterilis