May 23, 2017
Surveys and ratings sometimes offer surprises. Other times they offer the assurance and confirmation of something you thought was true and now you know. In 2016, the Weed Science Society of America conducted a survey to identify the most common and most troublesome weed in 12 categories of broadleaf crops and fruits and vegetables.
The winner of the most common category is common lambsquarters. It's everywhere and while relatively easy to control has developed its share of resistance to products like the triazine class of herbicides. Other "common" weeds include foxtail - giant, green and yellow; and morningglory.
Also confirming what many probably already knew, Palmer amaranth is No. 1 as the most troublesome weed. "Palmer amaranth was not even a top 10 weed in the 1970s," says Lee Van Wychen, science policy director, National and Regional Weed Science Societies. "But it won the weed evolution lottery with its ability to resist glyphosate."
You can see the ranking of most troublesome and most common on the list below: