How to Control Reed Canary Grass With Sethoxydim
Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), is an invasive weed that grows during the cool winter months. The plant grows from underground rhizomes that spread rapidly and regrow each year. The plant is particularly challenging to control even with repeated use of herbicide. However, after extensive testing, according to the United States Forest Service, controlling the weed is possible with an herbicide called sethoxydim when applied repeatedly and combined with mechanical removal methods. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Garden tiller
- Garden sprayer with fan nozzle
- Sethoxydim herbicide
- Non-ionic surfactant
- Face mask
- Safety glasses
Instructions
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Place a garden tiller at the edge of the location that is infested with the reed canarygrass weeds. Set the blade depth on the tiller to at least 5 inches and push it over the land to till under the weeds and destroy the root systems. If desired, you can skip the tilling, but control of the weed using sethoxydim is lessened.
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Open a 2 1/2-gallon pump sprayer with a fan spray nozzle. Pour in 3 3/4 pints of the herbicide sethoxydim for every one acre of land you are treating.
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Open a bottle of non-ionic surfactant, which helps the herbicide stick to the plant stems and roots better. Pour .12 oz. of the surfactant into the sprayer.
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Close the sprayer up and shake it to mix the contents. You will also need to shake the sprayer periodically as you apply the mixture to prevent it from separating.
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Point the sprayer at the ground and saturate the entire area with the herbicide mixture until the ground surface is completely wet.
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Examine the area on a monthly basis and reapply the herbicide mixture to any new shoots that develop. Treatment with sethoxydim typically requires multiple years for complete eradication of reed canarygrass.
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Tips & Warnings
Always wear a face mask and safety glasses when spraying herbicides to protect yourself from back spray.
Do not apply a broad-spectrum herbicide, such as glyphosate, to the reed canarygrass since this causes the plant to grow larger to compensate for the portions that die back from the herbicide.
