Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T22:15:14.097Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Biology of Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Donald C. Thill ,
K. George Beck  and
Robert H. Callihan
Donald C. Thill
Affiliation:
Dep. Plant, Soil, and Entomol. Sci., Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843
K. George Beck
Affiliation:
Dep. Plant, Soil, and Entomol. Sci., Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843
Robert H. Callihan
Affiliation:
Dep. Plant, Soil, and Entomol. Sci., Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Downy brome (Bromus tectorum L. # BROTE), also known as cheatgrass, downy chess, broncograss, Mormon oats, and junegrass, was introduced into the United States from Europe, apparently during the middle of the nineteenth century (11, 21). According to Mack (23), downy brome entered British Columbia, Washington, and Utah around 1890; and by 1928 it had reached its present range, occupying much of the perennial grassland in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and British Columbia. Today, downy brome is a widespread weed throughout most of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, except for the southeastern United States (5, 17). Some consider downy brome to be an important forage because it provides most of the early spring grazing for livestock in western United States rangeland (21). However, it is also considered a troublesome weed in rangeland (31), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (27), several other crops (29), and noncropland (32).

Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 32 , Issue S1: Supplement 1: Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum) History, Biology, and Control in Agricultural Production Systems. Proceedings of a Symposium of the Weed Science Society of America. February 9, 1983, St. Louis, Missouri , 1984 , pp. 7 - 12
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 by the Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

1. Beddows, A. R. 1931. Seed setting and flowering in various grasses. Welsh Plant Breeding Stn. (Aberystwyth), Bull. 12:5–99.Google Scholar
2. Bund, A. C., Chepil, W. S., and Doughty, J. L. 1954. Germination of weed seeds. 3. The influence of crops and fallow on the weed population of the soil. Can. J. Agric. Sci. 34:18–27.Google Scholar
3. Chepil, W. S. 1946. Germination of weed seeds. 1. Longevity, periodicity of germination and vitality of seeds in cultivated soil. Sci. Agric. 26:307–346.Google Scholar
4. Chepil, W. S. 1946. Germination of weed seeds. 2. The influence of tillage treatments on germination. Sci. Agric. 26:347–357.Google Scholar
5. Clarke, S. E., Campbell, J. A., and Shevkenek, W. 1950. The identification of certain native and naturalized grasses by their vegetative characters. Canada Dep. Agric. Pub. 762, Tech. Bull. 50. 129 pp.Google Scholar
6. Cline, J. F., Uresk, D. W., and Rickard, W. H. 1977. Comparison of soil water used by a sagebrush-bluebunch and cheatgrass community. J. Range Manage. 30:199–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Eckert, R. E. Jr. and Evans, R. A. 1963. Responses of downy brome and crested wheatgrass to nitrogen and phosphorus in nutrient solutions. Weeds 11:170–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Evans, R. A. and Young, J. A. 1972. Microsite requirements for establishment of annual rangeland weeds. Weed Sci. 20:350–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9. Evans, R. A. and Young, J. A. 1975. Enhancing germination of dormant seeds of downy brome. Weed Sci. 23:354–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Finnerty, D. W. and Klingman, D. L. 1962. Life cycles and control studies of some weed bromegrasses. Weeds 10:40–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11. Fleming, C. E., Shipley, M. A., and Miller, M. R. 1942. Bronco-grass (Bromus tectorum) on Nevada ranges. Nev. Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 159. 21 pp.Google Scholar
12. Harris, G. A. 1967. Some competitive relationships between Agropyron spicatum and Bromus tectorum . Ecol. Monogr. 37:89–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13. Harris, G. A. 1977. Root phenology as a factor of competition among grass seedlings. J. Range Manage. 30:172–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Harris, G. A. and Wilson, A. M. 1970. Competition for moisture among seedlings of annual and perennial grasses as influenced by root elongation at low temperature. Ecology 41:530–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. Hinds, W. T. 1975. Energy and carbon balances in cheatgrass: An essay in autecology. Ecol. Mono. 45:367–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16. Hironaka, M. 1961. The relative rate of root development of cheatgrass and medusahead. J. Range Manage. 14:263–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17. Hitchcock, A. S. 1971. Manual of the Grasses of the United States. 2nd. ed. Rev. by Agnes Chase. U.S. Dep. Agric. Misc. Pub. 200. U.S. Printing Office, Washington, DC. 1051 pp.Google Scholar
18. Hulbert, L. C. 1955. Ecological studies of Bromus tectorum and other annual bromegrasses. Ecol. Monogr. 25:181–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19. Hull, A. C. Jr. and Pechanec, J. F. 1947. Cheatgrass: A challenge to range research. J. For. 45:555–564.Google Scholar
20. Kay, B. L. and Evans, R. A. 1965. Effect of fertilization on a mixed stand of cheatgrass and intermediate wheatgrass. J. Range Manage. 18:7–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21. Klemmedson, J. O. and Smith, J. G. 1964. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) Bot. Rev. 30, 226–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22. Laude, H. M. 1956. Germination of freshly harvested seed of some western range species. J. Range Manage. 9:126–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23. Mack, R. N. 1981. Invasion of Bromus tectorum L. into western North America: An ecological chronicle. Agro-ecosystems 7:145–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24. Mack, R. N. and Pyke, D. A. 1983. The demography of Bromus tectorum variation in time and space. J. Ecol. 71:69–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25. McDonough, W. T. 1975. Water potentials of germinating seeds. Bot. Gaz. 136:106–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26. Piemeisel, R. L. 1938. Changes in weedy plant cover on cleared sagebrush land and their probable causes. U.S. Dep. Agric., Tech. Bull. 654. 44 pp.Google Scholar
27. Rydrych, D. J. 1974. Competition between winter wheat and downy brome. Weed Sci. 22:211–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28. Rydrych, D. J. and Muzik, T. J. 1968. Downy brome competition and control in dryland wheat. Agron. J. 60:279–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29. Spence, L. E. 1937. Root studies of important range plants of the Boise River watershed. J. For. 35:747–754.Google Scholar
30. Steinbauer, G. P. and Grigsby, B. H. 1957. Field and laboratory studies on the dormancy and germination of the seeds of chess (Bromus secalinus L.) and downy bromegrass (Bromus tectorum L.). Weeds 5:1–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31. Stewart, G. and Hull, A. C. 1949. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.): An ecological intruder in southern Idaho. Ecology 30:58–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32. Thill, D. C., Schirman, R. D., and Appleby, A. P. 1979. Influence of soil moisture, temperature, and compaction on the germination of downy brome (Bromus tectorum). Weed Sci. 27:625–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33. Thill, D. C., Schirman, R. D., and Appleby, A. P. 1980. Influence of afterripening temperature and endogenous rhythms on downy brome (Bromus tectorum) germination. Weed Sci. 28:321–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34. Tisdale, E. W. 1947. The grasslands of the southern interior of British Columbia. Ecology 78:346–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35. Wicks, G. A. 1966. Downy brome competition in winter wheat. Proc. North Centr. Weed Control Conf. Page 22.Google Scholar
36. Wicks, G. A., Burnside, O. C., and Fenster, C. R. 1971. Influence of soil type and depth of planting on downy brome seed. Weed Sci. 19:82–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
37. Young, J. A., Evans, R. A., and Eckert, R. E. Jr. 1969. Population dynamics of downy brome. Weed Sci. 17:20–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38. Young, J. A. and Evans, R. A. 1973. Downy brome intruder in the plant succession of big sagebrush communities in the Great Basin. J. Range Manage. 26:410–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar