At 07:05 AM 9/10/03 -0500, you wrote:
>Gary E. Briers
>Professor and Associate Head
>Department of Agricultural Education
>Texas A&M University
>107E Scoates Hall
>2116 TAMU
>College Station, TX 77843-2116
>g-briers@tamu.edu
>979.862.3000 (my desk)
>979.862.3003 (office; Debbie)
>979.845.6296 (fax)
>
>Any suggestions from anyone about how to effectively control
>(eliminate!) smutgrass in improved pasture in Southeast Texas (40"
>annual rainfall, loamy sand to sandy loam soils)? Velpar (hexazinone),
>I understand, may work. Roundup applied with ropewick applicator--will
>enough active ingredient be applied?
>
>Gary Briers
>
>REPLY: Gary,
A publication written by Tim Murphy, UGA says Velpar will work, but expect
injury of bermudagrass for 3 - 6 weeks. URL is:
http://commodities.caes.uga.edu/fieldcr
ops/forages/Weedinfo/weedarts/smtgrass.htm
Treated areas can not be grazed for 60 days after application anyway so
this is somewhat of a moot point other than the grass may be rather short
at the earliest re-entry time. Meister Pro says Velpar DF or L gives
partial control of smutgrass.
Another good publication is by Don Ball and John Everest at University of
Alabama. It goes into some detail on the use of Velpar to control
smutgrass. URL is:
http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/publications/anr/
anr-104/anr-104.html
He also says Roundup will work on headed out smutgrass if grazing can
create a height differential between the bermudagrass and the
smutgrass. The livestock will avoid the smutgrass allowing it to go to
seedhead while the bermudagrass is grazed lower. If the smutgrass is in
isolated patches then spot spraying may work, but I would be worried that
there is a sufficient seedbank of smutgrass there that it might come back
faster than the bermudagrass can spread vegetatively into the bare patch to
close the canopy. I am not sure how long smutgrass seed stays viable in
the soil, but if like most weed seeds it probably enjoys several years of
viability.
Jim Cropper
James B. Cropper
Forage Management Specialist
Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit
Curtin Road
University Park, PA 16802-3702
814-863-0942
814-863-0935 FAX
jbc9@psu.edu
