Canary seed is very susceptible to Treflan and Eptam damage, and so fields treated the previous year with these herbicides should be avoided. There are currently no herbicides for annual canarygrass registered in the U.S., and so cultural practices for weed control are required. To date, insects, and diseases have not been a major problem in annual canarygrass production. Aphids are occasionally a problem during seed fill. Several pesticides have been registered in Canada for this purpose.
Maturity occurs when the kernels are hard and the head has turned white-beige in color.
The panicle of annual canarygrass resists shattering and so allow the crop to fully mature before harvest. Straight combining is the preferred harvest method but swathing just prior to combining is also effective. Dehulling the seed is undesirable, and may result in dockage, and so a cylinder speed of 500 to 750 rpm is recommended. The dust from canarygrass is irritating, especially on hot days, and dust masks may be required. Yield potential of canarygrass at four locations in Minnesota is provided in Table 3.