Creeping foxtail (Elytrigia repens L.) – a perennial rhizomatous weed from the Grass family, characterized by an upright stem 40 to 120 cm high and a smooth cylindrical surface. The leaves are narrow, linear, pointed and stiff with hairy sheaths. The root system is creeping and deep: it forms long rhizomes up to 1.5 m long, from which new shoots easily regenerate. The inflorescence is an ear up to 15 cm long, containing numerous segments of 5–7 mm each.
Creeping foxtail is highly competitive: it actively competes with crop plants for moisture, nitrogen and light, which can reduce yield by up to 40%. The dense turf cover created by this weed makes soil cultivation difficult. Rapid reproduction is manifested in the fact that more than 50 new shoots can develop from one meter of rhizome.
Various methods are used for prevention and control of creeping foxtail: strict crop rotation, deep autumn plowing, cultivation during weed growth, inter-row treatments. Mechanical destruction of rhizomes, mulching or the use of black fallow is also effective. As a chemical agent, herbicides can be used, but their selection and dosage must correspond to specific growing conditions.
The plant is a natural hybrid of Elytrigia intermedia ssp.trichophora and Elytrigia repens, which gives it features of both parent taxa. Despite the fact that in some natural reserves populations of creeping foxtail may be numerous, outside protected areas its spread quickly decreases due to aggressive competition with crop plants.
