Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) has been widely cultivated as a pasture grass in the temperate regions of Australia. It has become a widespread weed of crops and roadsides in southern and eastern Australia and also readily hybridises with other ryegrasses (Lolium spp.). The most common of these is hybrid ryegrass (i.e. Lolium x hybridum or Lolium multiflorum x Lolium perenne), which is actually more common than Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) in naturalised ryegrass populations in some states.
Though this species is largely seen as a weed of crops and disturbed sites, it is also regarded as an environmental weed in some situations. Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is regarded as a potential threat to one of more vegetation communities in Victoria, where it is a common weed of plains riparian shrubby woodlands in the Wimmera bioregion and floodplain riparian woodlands in the Northern Inland Slopes bioregion in this state. It has also been recorded in conservations areas in the inland regions of south-eastern Australia (e.g. Rutherglen Nature Conservation Reserve in north-western Victoria and Warra National Park in inland northern New South Wales). It can become invasive in temperate climates in agricultural areas.
How to get rid of:
Pulling, hoeing, tilling and digging will often take care of weed problems without the need for chemical sprays. Let’s learn more about using herbicide in gardens.
