Volunteer lentils
Lens culinaris
Predominantly grown in the drier areas of South Australia and Victoria, lentils are also grown in southern NSW and Western Australia. Control of volunteer lentils in the subsequent crop(s) is important as ascochyta and grey mould (both key diseases) can carry from one season to another. It is recommended that lentils should be grown at least three seasons apart.
Description
Lentils are an annual bushy legume which has many paired leaflets and small white to mauve flowers. As they have an indeterminate growth habit, it is possible to find flowers, immature pods and mature pods at the same time. They prefer loamy to heavy alkaline soils and are highly sensitive to saline, boron and sodic soils.
Control
While lentils are very susceptible to Group B and Group I herbicides, this can be problematic if lentils or other pulses are planned in a short rotation.
Velocity® is registered for post-emergent suppression of 2-6 leaf lentils, where it will suppress the growth of lentils but may not adequately reduce plant numbers. Precept® is registered for the control of 2–6 leaf volunteer lentils when used in a tank mix with Lontrel® in wheat, barley, oats, cereal rye and triticale. Roundup Ready® with PLANTSHIELD® and Roundup Ready PL are both registered for the control of up to 8 leaf volunteer chickpeas in Roundup Ready and TruFlex® canola crops.
Velocity® is registered for post-emergent suppression of 2-6 leaf lentils, where it will suppress the growth of lentils but may not adequately reduce plant numbers. Precept® is registered for the control of 2–6 leaf volunteer lentils when used in a tank mix with Lontrel® in wheat, barley, oats, cereal rye and triticale. Roundup Ready® with PLANTSHIELD® and Roundup Ready PL are both registered for the control of up to 8 leaf volunteer chickpeas in Roundup Ready and TruFlex® canola crops.
References
GRDC (2014), ‘GrowNotes: Lentil Southern’, https://grdc.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/243281/GRDC-GrowNotes-Lentil-Southern.pdf
Herbiguide (2014), ‘Lentil’, http://www.herbiguide.com.au/Descriptions/hg_Lentil.htm