Guess the Pest! Week 23 Answer: Common Chickweed

David Owens, Extension Entomologist, owensd@udel.edu

Congratulations to Mark Sultenfuss for correctly answering this week’s Guess The Pest Challenge, common chickweed. Mark will be sent a sweep net and entered in the end of season raffle.

From Mark VanGessel, Extension Weed Management Specialist
Common chickweed is a winter annual weed that begins emerging in the late fall, with some spring emergence occurring as well. Common chickweed is one of the first weeds to flower and set seeds in the spring. Herbicides used to burndown no-till fields will provide good to excellent control of common chickweed, but these fields are often not treated early enough to prevent seed production. Some populations of common chickweed have developed resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides (group 2), so products such as Harmony Extra are no longer effective means of controlling it in small grains.

A big thank you to this season’s Guess The Pest participants. I hope that it was fun and useful to you. Next week the final winner will be revealed! Stay tuned.