An understanding of how the quackgrass grows will help avoid common errors in battling this plant. Quackgrass grows from underground rhizomes to an unmowed height of 1 to 4 feet. It has thin, flat, bright ashy green leaf blades. The seed spike grows from 3 to 8 inches long and appears in July. Quackgrass seed is often found in rye straw, so you may want to avoid using this as mulch in your garden. Each quackgrass plant produces about 25 seeds; they remain viable 3 to 5 years in the soil. It takes 2 to 3 months for a newly germinated plant to develop rhizomes. It is very important to eliminate the plants before they reach this stage.
Rhizomes (underground stems) are yellow to white, 1/8" in diameter, with distinct joints or nodes every inch or so. Each node is capable of producing fibrous roots, and sending a new blade of grass through the soil. The creeping rhizomes are so tough they can grow through a potato tuber, or push up through asphalt pavement. If left to grow, they will form a dense mat 4" thick in the upper part of the soil. One plant can produce 300 feet of rhizomes each year. Never use a rototiller where quackgrass is growing, because it amounts to propagating thousands of new plants from the chopped up rhizomes.
Chemical Control The most effective way to eradicate quackgrass is by using a herbicide that contains glyphosate (Monsanto Roundup). It should be applied when there is no wind and when there will be no rain for 48 hours. The plant must be green and actively growing for best results. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that will kill almost any green plant it contacts, and also can injure or kill woody plants. It is important to apply glyphosate only to the plants you want to eradicate.
One problem with using glyphosate on quackgrass is that up to 95% of the lateral buds on the rhizomes are dormant even though the plant is actively growing. Since herbicides are translocated from the leaves to actively growing plant tissue, after about 7 days the glyphosate degrades and the dormant lateral buds will start to grow new shoots. It may take more than one application to completely eradicate quackgrass.
One way to overcome lateral bud dormancy is to apply nitrogen fertilizer. This will break lateral bud dormancy, and the herbicide will be translocated to the now actively growing plant tissue and kill the entire plant. Repeat the application of glyphosate every 30 to 45 days; avoid cultivation for 2 weeks after each application.
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Today's Featured Article - Chores - by Frank Young. The ceaseless passing of time! It is at once our friend and our enemy. It measures our progress and it makes us old. Like most features of our life, few things are all good or all bad, and most such judgments depend on our own perspective or viewpoint. In our particular hobby, we enjoy the nostalgic return to the days of our youth as we recreate many of the scenes that took place on the family farm that served as the stage for the first few acts of the play that is our live
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