Re: Nut Sedge/Sharon McA

Mr. Turley -

Although not currently plagued by nut sage I found your response most 
informative.

silverb@radium-vs1.hanscom.af.mil
(617)377-8426
 
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Original Text
From: RMTURLEY@aol.com, on 7/31/96 6:52 PM:
Sharon:

Nutsedge is not a grass, but a sedge that is a perennial producing stolens
and under ground nut-like structures that are compressed stems.  You can
break the plant off, chop it, spray it, but if you don't get the nut out,
that nut will regenerate growth again.  

Grasses have round stems ; sedges have 3-sided stems.  There are many sedge
species that are not nut producing but can be just as aggravating.
 Post-emerged herbicides for grasses such as Poast and Fusilade will not
control Sedges.  The product Vantage mentioned already is labeled for its
control.  Nutsedge is a tough plant to control chemically.  Vantage, its
effect on iris foliage and growth, if it makes contact by purpose or
accidently, I have no experience.  Others with use experience may want to
comment.

Using the yellow pre-emerge herbicides such as Treflan, Surflan, et al to
control germinating nutsedge seeds would require using the higher label rates
for control.  Farmers who use the yellow herbicies to control germinating
weed seeds in soybeans (<:) and cotton at low or normal rates over a number
of years can notice the increase in a sedge problem.  The higher application
rates of the yellow herbicides like Treflan cause root pruning, plant
stunting and yellowing (chlorosis).  In controling the sedge, you may end of
damaging your crop or plant of choice.  As with all chemical use, whether it
is aspirin or Vantage, DOSE  is the poison. 

I once prepared and planted a large bed of daylilies in late winter.  As the
warm season began I started noticing nutgrass popping up here and there.  I
begain pulling as I found them, but by mid summer I gave up as the bed was
completely taken over.  My suffocating daylilies looked like the weeds.  I
went in and dug up every daylily.  With good sedge growth as a result of
fertilizing and water the daylilies the nutsedge was one of the best crops
I've seen.  I got out my sprayer and Roundup.  Made a solution using the
higher label rates and applied the spray to the nutsedge with good coverage.
  This killed the sedge weed.  I continue to water the bed, so the escape
nuts would germinate and grow.  There were a few that pop up here and there.
 A second treatment was applied.  I lost a season's use of that bed but I
eliminated the nutsedge.  This taught me that if I have selected an area for
a bed, I checkout  my weed situation and treat ahead of time.  This has saved
me a lot of aggravation and lost of good plants.

Robert Turley
LaBelle, FL
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