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Cooperative Extension Service |
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Agricultural
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Arbor Day
Dale Bumpers College
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Weed Control for Home LawnsGood cultural practices account for 60 to 70 percent of turfgrass weed control. Maintaining a dense, vigorous lawn is essential to prevent lawn weeds. Herbicides should be considered a supplement, not a stand-alone weed control practice. If herbicide use is not accompanied by proper cultural practices, the weed problem will return because the deficiency, which led to the weed invasion, has not been corrected. When herbicides alone are used, the symptoms, not the cause, of a weedy lawn are being treated. Weeds are often indicators of specific problems. Soil compaction may lead to encroachment of species like knotweed, annual bluegrass, path rush and goosegrass. Poor drainage favors invasion by sedges, rushes and Virginia buttonweed. Saturated soil places the turfgrass under stress because roots need oxygen, which is not available in continually wet soils. The presence of legumes such as white clover and lespedeza is often an indication of low nitrogen levels. Cultural and environmental problems should be corrected before embarking on a program of herbicide use. Water deeply and infrequently. Light, frequent irrigation encourages shallow rooting. Early morning is a good time to water because evaporation loss is minimal, the wind is usually calm and early watering allows the grass foliage to dry during the day. Patch bare areas as soon as they appear to prevent invasion by weeds. Stoloniferous grasses such as bermuda, and St. Augustine will readily fill in bare spots if a few plugs or sprigs of healthy grass are planted in these areas. Re-seeding is an option with common bermudagrass and tall fescue. Slow growing grasses such as zoysia and centipede may be sprigged or plugged but it is much faster to sod the bare areas. Soil test and lime, if necessary, to bring pH within soil test recommendations. Fertilize according to soil test recommendations to encourage vigorous turf. Do not add additional phosphorous if soil test levels exceed 150 lb/acre. Additional potash is not needed if potash levels are at 300 lb/acre or more. Mechanical control methods such as digging and pulling can be useful when dealing with small number of weeds. Hand pull or dig new or exotic weeds to prevent their spread. Mowing is another method of mechanical weed control. Follow recommended mowing guidelines for the various types of grasses. Keep the mower blades sharp and avoid excessively low mowing. Do not remove more than 1/3 of the grass height at any one mowing. Scalping puts the grass under stress. See Table 1 for recommended mowing heights. Another point to consider is, how weed-free does your lawn have to be? Weeds bother some people more than others. Look at the lawn from the street, if it is acceptable, do not waste your time going after those last few weeds. Excess herbicide use designed to eliminate a few stubborn weeds does more harm than good. A 100 percent weed-free lawn is not a practical goal. |
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University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture |
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