Hairy fleabane is a summer annual weed from the Asteraceae family and occasional biennial in our area found in cultivated areas and citrus orchards, alfalfa fields, roadsides and ditch banks, landscapes and around buildings. The seedlings are oval to egg shaped and very similar in size (~0.4-0.8mm) to horseweed (Conyza canadiensis), which makes it very hard to distinguish one from the other in the field.
Hairy fleabane grows about 4 feet, branches from the bottom and leaves are pubescent also stems are covered with stiff hairs. The growth habits of horseweed (marestail) are different in that they grow up to 10 feet tall and branches from the upper half of the plant.
You can find Fleabane flowering right now in the Yuma area especially the Yuma Mesa. The IPM Team has received calls from our friends PCAs and growers stating that the Fleabane survives the application of Glyphosate, which has been reported for both conyzas. So, we got some trials in progress looking for options to control Fleabane as well as other weeds that have shown tolerance to Roundup such as White sweet clover or malva in different crops.
The results from the evaluations will be shared in this newsletter.
Reference:
1. UC/IPM Retrieved from http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/WEEDS/hairy_fleabane.html