Karla Gage | Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University

Karla Gage, an associate professor of weed science and plant biology in the School of Agricultural Sciences and the School of Biological Sciences at Southern Illinois University, discusses the use of barley as a weed suppressant. Barley, which produces allelopathic compounds that inhibit weed growth, is a lower-biomass alternative to cereal rye. Gage's research shows that barley suppresses weeds like Palmer Amaranth and waterhemp as effectively as high-biomass cereal rye. Barley also helps conserve soil moisture and can be planted into soybeans without significant nitrogen loss. Despite its benefits, Gage emphasizes the need for pre-emergent herbicides due to deer grazing and herbicide resistance evolution.