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A tufted annual grass, robust, up to 1.5 m high. Inflorescence up to 20 cm long, usually nodding. Spikelets 3 mm with 3-6 bristles, 3-10 mm long. Upper glume three-quarters of the length of smooth upper lemma. Seeds usually green (from Lorenzi and Jeffery, 1987). S. faberi is a tetraploid with chromosome number (2n) = 36 (Wang et al., 1995).
Distribution
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S. faberi is a native of China, introduced to many other regions and especially important in the eastern USA.
The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.
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S. faberi is an annual weed reproducing by seeds. The seeds are dormant when shed, this dormancy being lost after several months, but more rapidly with exposure to moist, cold conditions. A light requirement and secondary dormancy may be induced by prolonged burial (Taylorson, 1972; Kim et al., 1996). Germination is high at 20°C, lower at 30°C (Fausey and Renner, 1997).
Impact
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S. faberi is one of the most important weeds of the USA maize belt and the subject of intensive research, and development of population models (Forcella et al., 1995).
Similarities to Other Species/Conditions
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S. faberi is not unlike S. viridis and S. pumila but more robust with nodding spikes and different spikelet structure. It is most likely to be confused with large forms of S. viridis (vars. major, robusta-purpurea and robusta-alba) but S. faberi has larger spikelets (over 2.5 mm), more bristles, and softly hairy rather than scabrous leaf surfaces. See Schreiber and Oliver (1971) for a detailed comparison with these. See also datasheet for S. viridis.
Due to the variable regulations around (de)registration of pesticides, your national list of registered pesticides or relevant authority should be consulted to determine which products are legally allowed for use in your country when considering chemical control. Pesticides should always be used in a lawful manner, consistent with the product's label.
S. faberi is controlled by most standard herbicides for annual grasses, but is somewhat tolerant of triazines. More complete triazine resistance has now developed in France, the USA and Spain. Resistance to sethoxydim, fluazifop and diclofop has been reported in the USA (Wiederholt and Stoltenberg, 1993).
Recasens J; Conesa JA, 1995. New adventitious weeds in the irrigated crops of Catalonia. Proceedings of the 1995 Congress of the Spanish Weed Science Society, Huesca, Spain. Madrid, Spain: Sociedad Espanola de Malherbologia, 59-65.
Schreiber MM; Oliver LR, 1971. Two new varieties of Setaria viridis. Weed Science, 19:424-427.
Taylorson RB, 1972. Phytochrome controlled changes in dormancy and germination of buried weed seeds. Weed Science, 20:417-422.
