• Key characteristics
  • Biology
  • Impacts
  • Control
  • Further information

  • Slender, stiff, short-lived grasses commonly growing in relatively dry places
  • Leaf blade flat or rolled, often very narrow, only 2 – 3 mm wide. Short membranous ligules less than 0.5 mm long
  • Lower surface of the leaf has no hairs and upper surface has very short hairs less than 0.5 mm long
  • Flowering stem, usually erect, bearing a one-sided flower head with spikelets 6 -12 mm long excluding the awns
  • Differences between V. bromoides and V. myuros in their glume length enable the two species to be separated. The glume is an outer husk protruding from the base of the spikelet
  • Lower glume of V. bromoides is 50 – 75% of the length of the upper glume
  • Lower glume of V. myuros is 15 – 40% of the length of the upper glume
  • In addition, V. bromoides seed heads protrude fully from the leaf sheath when mature while V. myuros mature seed heads are enclosed by the uppermost leaf sheath or only protrude a little from the sheath.

Origin and habitat

  • There are approximately 30 species of Vulpia
  • Vulpia myuros and Vulpia bromoides occur together in many countries. Their biology is similar and they are often referred to collectively as ‘vulpia’
  • Vulpia originated from Africa, temperate Asia and Europe and has become naturalised in many countries including America, Australia and New Zealand
  • Vulpia inhabits shingly river flats, dryland pastures and mid-altitude hill/high country
  • It lives in a wide range of soil types and can grow in nutrient poor soils.

Life-cycle

  • Vulpia seeds are produced in late spring/early summer and most germinate in autumn, but some can also germinate at other times of the year if there is sufficient moisture
  • The earlier in the growing season a plant germinates, the greater its seed production
  • In one study, vulpia plants which established in March produced 53 times as many seeds as plants which established in July
  • Seeds can persist in the soil for up to three years
  • Germination is severely reduced when seeds are buried to depths of 1 cm or more
  • Leaf litter suppresses vulpia germination and seedling establishment
  • Most dry-matter production occurs in spring
  • Vulpia flowers in late spring/early summer depending on the year, after which it produces seeds and dies
  • Dry plant residues provide very poor quality feed
  • Oversowing with subterranean clover can reduce vulpia seed head production and cover in dryland Canterbury pastures grazed by sheep
  • Seeds are spread by livestock and machinery
  • Seeds stick well to fleeces, hides and clothing, enabling them to spread far from the parent plant.

  • Vulpia provides poor quality forage in pastures and reduces stock carrying capacity
  • Residues contain allelopathic chemicals which are leached from vulpia litter and can impede the germination and growth of pasture and crop species
  • Competes vigorously in direct-drilled crops. Conventional tillage reduces vulpia infestations and impact
  • Seeds penetrate and damage hides, pelts and carcasses. Significant damage can cause down-grading of carcasses. Seeds get caught in and contaminate fleeces
  • Vulpia hosts diseases of cereals and causes problems in small seed production, as it reduces yields and contaminates the product.

Pasture establishment

  • Any control strategy must reduce vulpia seed set and its seed bank to prevent new pastures becoming infested
  • If vulpia is prevalent, vulpia plant litter should be incorporated into the soil before establishing a new pasture or sowing a crop to prevent allelopathic chemicals from leaching out of vulpia residues
  • Residues release the most toxins 40 – 60 days after decomposition starts. Sowing crops/pastures after this period will minimise the impact of these toxins on the crop or new pasture
  • Sowing one or more (successive) crops before establishing the pasture can allow the use of a selective grass herbicide to control vulpia.

Chemical control

  • Application of simazine during winter will kill vulpia plants and its residual activity will prevent any fresh germination
  • A mixture of simazine, dalapon and amitrole (often marketed as DAS) provides good control but also kills other grasses and many broad-leaf plants
  • In one study comparing timing of application, best control was achieved by spraying with glyphosate when 70 – 80% of vulpia seed heads were visible
  • A single application of a herbicide is unlikely to be effective – vulpia will rapidly re-invade from the seedbank if other measures (e.g. pasture renewal, grazing and repeat chemical application) are not used
  • The Foundation for Arable Research (see references below) says ‘Consistent performers against hairgrass have been Nortron (2 l/ha effective in ryegrass seed crops when applied pre-emergence) and Gardoprim (teruthylazine). Other chemicals which have proved useful include Sencor, Teedal, Karmex, Kerb Flo and Avadex.’

Making hay or silage

  • Cutting infested pasture for silage before vulpia seeds mature (e.g. in November) can reduce infestations
  • Making hay (e.g. in December) can allow vulpia seeds to mature in the paddock before the hay is cut. Seeds may be dispersed in paddocks where the hay is fed out; making hay is not a good way to control vulpia.

Grazing management

  • Grazing vulpia at strategic times can reduce infestations
  • Heavy grazing in spring and autumn can reduce vulpia flowering, seed set and seed bank replenishment and also reduce seedling numbers
  • The best time to graze vulpia in spring is when reproductive tillers begin to elongate and seed heads are visible; grazing at this stage helps to prevent further seed production before the plants die
  • Sheep may avoid mature vulpia plants as they prefer other more palatable pasture species
  • Note that autumn grazing alone can sometimes increase vulpia presence by increasing tillering
  • Given the small window of opportunity for grazing, only a small area of a property can be targeted for grazing each year (e.g. paddocks in which pastures are to be established in the following autumn, the worst paddocks, etc)
  • Fertiliser application and use of grass species and cultivars appropriate for the area can help desirable, pasture species to outcompete vulpia
  • Rotational grazing proved better than continuous stocking for limiting the spread of vulpia in dryland pastures grazed by sheep in southern Australia (- see references under ‘Further Information’).

  • Champion P, James T, Popay I, Ford K 2012. An illustrated guide to common grasses, sedges and rushes of New Zealand. New Zealand Plant Protection Society, Christchurch, New Zealand. 208 p.
  • Code GR 1996. Why vulpia is a problem in Australian agriculture. Plant Protection Quarterly 11: 202- 204.
  • Dillon SP, Forcella F 1984. Germination, emergence, vegetative growth and flowering of two silvergrasses, Vulpia bromoides (L.) S. F. Gray and Vulpia myuros (L.) C. C. Gmel. Australian Journal of Botany 32: 165-175.
  • Dowling PM 1996. The ecology of vulpia. Plant Protection Quarterly 11: 204-206.
  • Dowling PM, Millar GD, Milne B, Newell P 2009. Using plant development to determine optimum times for spraytopping, and assessing effect of grazing and double/repeat herbicide applications on regeneration of vulpia. Plant Protection Quarterly 24: 32-38.
  • Foundation for Arable Research, 2008. Hairgrass (Vulpia spp.). What do we know? A review of the literature. Weeds, Pests & Diseases. No.78 May 2008.  (accessed 4 August 2014).
  • Tozer KN, Lucas RH, Edwards GR 2007. Suppression of annual grass weeds by AR542 endophyte infection in dryland tall fescue pastures. New Zealand Plant Protection 60: 164-167.
  • Tozer KN, Chapman DF, Quigley PE, Dowling PM, Cousens RD, Kearney GA 2008. Effect of grazing, gap dynamics, and inter-specific seedling competition on growth and survival of Vulpia spp. and Hordeum murinum ssp. leporinum. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 59: 646-655.
  • Tozer KN, Chapman DF, Quigley PE, Dowling PM, Cousens RD, Kearney GA 2009. Integrated management of vulpia in dryland perennial pastures of southern Australia. Crop and Pasture Science 60: 32-42.