Foxtail

Yokum et al. (167) have studied the properties of a germination and growth inhibitor produced by Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail). The inhibitor was heat-stable, dialyzable, neutral, and nonnitrogenous. The authors suggested that it was a carbohydrate. 

The common and troublesome weeds present in these six crops in the 13 Southern states (VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, TN, KY, AR, LA, TX and OK) are regularly surveyed by State Extension Weed Specialists. The most recent survey includes 59 weeds which are common or troublesome in these six field crops (6). Twenty weeds on that list have been implicated as being allelopathic (Table 1) eleven are among the 10 most common in at least one of the six major field crops in the Southern states. Ten of these 11 weeds are considered to be among the 10 most troublesome, usually for the same crop in which it was found to be common. There is one weed [bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers] that is on the most troublesome list for cotton and tobacco, but not on any most common list. Similarly, giant foxtail (Setaria faberi Herrm.) is a common weed in tobacco, but apparently not a troublesome one. 

Giant foxtail Setaria faberi Herrm. tobacco - corn (12) ... 

In fields where some weeds were cleared using herbicides, other, more herbicide-resistant, species have appeared, such as common horsetail, coltsfoot, foxtail, wild oats, false wheat, etc. As a result of herbicide use, scratchweed, which cannot be destroyed by any herbicide, is making inroads into cereal crops, and chamomile has taken over rapeseed [6]. Using herbicides on rice fields caused the spread of wild, pesticide-resistant, low-yield forms of red-grain rice. 

Perennial plant, Rubus frondosus Giant foxtail, Setaria faberii Earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus Bluegrass, Poa spp. 

Common millet Panicum miliaceum L., barnyard grass E. crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv., bristly foxtail Setaria verticillata (L.) P. Beauv., redroot pigweed Amaranthus retroflexus L. 

Giant foxtail Setaria faberi R. Herrm., wimmera ryegrass Lolium rigidum Gaud. 

Pigweed Amaranthus spp., foxtail Setaria spp., velvetleaf Abutilon theophrasti Medikus Carpetweed Mollugo verticillata L., common... 

Hemp sesbania Sesbania exalta (Raf.) Cory, hairy nightshade Solanum sarrachoides Sendtner), longspine sandbur Cenchrus longispinus (Hack.) Fern., Kochia Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad., shepherd s-purse, Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.), green foxtail Setaria viridis (L.) P. Beauv. 

Free radical quenching by extracts of brown ragi was 94% while that by germinated, fermented and white ragi was 22%, 25%, and 5%, respectively. Extracts from foxtail was equally effective while extracts from rice had a free energy quenching activity of 1.8 (Sripriya et al., 1996). Mehta (2006) extracted ragi flour with methanol and added the dried powder to... 

Asharani et al. (2010) compared the antioxidant activity (measured as a-tocopherol units per gram) of methanolic extracts from different varieties of finger millet ( . coracana), little millet (P. sumatrense), foxtail millet (S. italica), and proso millet (P. miliaceum). Extracts from ragi averaged 15.3 0.6 while those of little millet, foxtail millet, and proso millet were 4.7 1.1,5.0 0.4, and 5.1 0.8, respectively. The total tocopherols in these millets were 4.1 0.2,1.3 0.2,1.2 0.008, and 3.6 0.1 mg/lOOg flour. 

Malleshi, N. G., Desikachar, H. S. R., and Tharanathan, R. N. (1986a). Free sugars and non starchy polysaccahrides of finger millet (Eleusine coracana), pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoideum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and their malts. Food Chem. 20, 253-261. 

Sridhar, R. and Lakshminarayana, G. (1994). Contents of total lipids and lipid classes and composition of fatty acids in small millets Foxtail (Setaria italica), Proso (Panicum mili-aceum), and finger (Eleusine coracana). Cereal Chem. 71, 355-359. 

Wankhede, D. B., Shenaz, A., and Rahgavendra, R. (1979). Preparation and physicochemical properties of starches and their fractions from finger millet (Eleusine coracna) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica). Starch 31,153-159. 

Figure 4.4 Giant foxtail (in foreground) was a very visible and competitive weed, particularly when soybean was harvested in the central Great Plains. (Courtesy of Dr. Ellery Knake, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois.)...

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