Help needed identifying grass

[EddieWalker]

I have this grass growing in three diffrent areas and it's out of control. As you can see in the picture, it's about four feet tall two weeks after mowing. The bermuda grass arond it is only a few inches tall.

I want to kill it, but would like to know what it's called so I can be sure to buy the right stuff. I know some poisons don't kill everything and this is something I want to die.

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[Huckridge]

Eddie,

Thats look like what we call Johnson grass out here. Livestock will eat it down and you won't see any in pastures with live stock. But in open pasture land, it seems to thrive. It will get taller and thicker with time and continue to spread. I don't know the best way to deal with it because my cows don't let let it grow on my place.

 

[BillyP]

I agree, it's Johnsongrass. The best way to get rid of it is generic Roundup and a wick applicator.

 

[KaiB]

Yep Eddie, Johnson Grass, I can just make out the thick white center stem.

Before it goes to seed, best to apply glyphosate (strong like 5%) either by hand pump spray or brush during a still morning. Mowing will do no good. You would rather loose a bit of bermuda due to over spray than have the Johnson take over (it will).

Once it bolts to seed, the RoundUp won't work well.

 

[Jimbrown]

Wow Eddie I thought everyone in Texas knew what Johnson grass was. It is the scourge of cotton and grain farmers. It seems to sprout anywhere that the dirt is disturbed. You can kill it but I bet the road ditches and the like are full of it and it will come back it always does. It will grow in very poor soil but does need moisture. Wish I had about 20 ac of it.

 

[jinman]

Like bamboo, Johnsongrass was first brought to the US to control erosion. The roots are tuber-like and may be 1/4" to 1/2" in diameter. They form a mass in the soil and hang on for dear life. I've spent hours and hours trying to dig it and bermuda intertwined. It seems that if it's dry, the bermuda will win. If it's wet, the Johnsongrass will take over. It forms a loose seed grain head when mature that is up to a foot long and about 4-6" in diameter, containing several hundred seeds.

 

[KaiB]

It's not wet in Texas, is it?

 

[wushaw]

Eddie, MSMA will work and not kill your Bermuda, I have had good sucess with it along the road, it just needs to be a little dryer and sunnier than what it has been here recently for it to be real effective.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks everyone for the help. We really didn't have any idea of what it was, but I have heard of Johnson Grass before. I just don't know my plants very well, and especialy anything about pastures or livestock.

I'm glad Roundup will work as that's prett easy to get.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

Thanks everyone for the help. We really didn't have any idea of what it was, but I have heard of Johnson Grass before.

Eddie, here is some Johnsongrass growing in my garden. It's a little more mature than the plant you took a picture of.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm seeing more and more of it now that I'm looking. I have some growing around my bird feeders that I mistook for birdseed which had started to grow. That picture I posted was just the most obvious clump of it that was close to my driveway, and not muddy to get to, but I have a very, very thick stand of it growing in my fence at my entrance that is killing me to cut down with my weedeater. This is where I WANT to spray and kill it off the most.

Thanks again for identifying it for me. I was looking at the Tractor Supply catalog as saw some stuff that mentions it's for Johnson grass. Guess it's a bad enough problem that there are specialty chemicals to kill it.

Eddie

 

[kensfarm]

. I have some growing around my bird feeders that I mistook for birdseed which had started to grow.

That is probably milo around the birdfeeders.. looks similiar to Johnson grass.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I have lots of johnson grass in my fields. It is very hardy and nearly impossible to totally get rid of. I once asked an old timer how to get rid of johnson grass. He said "sell the farm". LOL

 

[CharlieTR]

Yep, sure wish Col Johnson left it in Turkey where here found it.
That is one plant that is one big contradiction.
No one wants it - seed store sell out of seed often.
Cattle love it, great protein content for cattle - kills cattle after a frost or draught from Prusic Acid (PA).

Sells OK if you bale it.
Pigs love to root up full grown plants.

Might think about a Wick with round up since it is taller than other grass.

 

[GA WTDeer]

Here in Ga we "had" Johnson grass, now I'm growing cactus for deer. ....It hasn't ,oh what's that stuff...mmm.. oh yea rain. Clay

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Eddie, I 2nd what Wushaw wrote. Now that you have a decent stand of Bermuda, you'll want to keep some MSMA and 2-4-D handy. The MSMA is good for Johnson and Dallis grass (hard to kill) but won't kill bermuda if applied at a reasonable rate.

2-4-D is great stuff too especially for thistle type stuff. Do you have a boom sprayer or spot applicator? Buy some red or blue dye to mix in your batch so you can see where you've sprayed... I need a boom sprayer myself. I have plenty of weeds. Best to spray in dryer conditions.

 

[EddieWalker]

Kyle,

This is all new to me, and something I'm very confused about. I don't have a sprayer except those little pump ones that I use around the house. I think I realy need one that I can tow behind the tractor, but don't know how big, or what to look for. Any suggestions?????

One of the things I don't know is how many gallons should I get? One pasture if 4 acres, another will be 8 acres when done, and the dam is about two acres of grass around the lake. There will be more as I keep clearing and opening things up, but if I could do each area one at a time, that would be ideal.

I've only just started looking around, so I'm pretty clueless. Where do you buy your chemicals? Is Tractor Supply a good source?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Eddie, I'm in the same boat. I try to keep about 2 acres around the house mowed, the rest is for hay so my spraying needs are maybe different from yours. I'll assume you plan on mowing with your tractor. The type of sprayer you want is about a 15-25 gal tank with a boom. Do you have an ATV to put it on? If so, I would get the 15 gallon tank for only about 125 lb weight when full. I would like one for my riding lawnmower so as I mow, I can spray for weeds, bugs, or fertilizer and get complete coverage. I think the setup I want is about $400 Some are less than $250.

You can buy most weed killers at TSC or a feed store but to buy in quantities larger than a quart, you'll need a state applicators license. You can buy 2-4-D for about $10/qt. With license $32 for 2.5 gallons. In the spring when weeds are taking over, spray 1/2 to 1 quart per acre of 2-4-D. I can't remember the application rate for MSMA as I have only spot sprayed it. I borrowed our COOP's big sprayer when we bought liquid fertilizer.

 

[BB_TX]

Eddie - I bought a 15 gallon sprayer from TSC. It fits well on the back of my Honda Rancher. It has the wand plus a 2 head boom that is less than the width of my ATV. You can also get wider folding booms with more spray heads. The 2 head boom will cover a path maybe 6' wide. Works well for spraying 2-4D or MSMA in my lawn, but would be a little small for spraying multiple acres. A 15 gallon fill will cover about half acre when spraying my yard. It also works well with the wand when spraying my fence lines with Roundup.
The off brand glyphosate at TSC is cheaper than brand name Roundup.
Due to being out of town for most of the last 2 months plus the rain, I mowed some Johnson grass yesterday that was much taller than the hood of my tractor, probably near 6'.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've been having some good luck finding deals on Craigslist lately, so maybe I'll get lucky and find a sprayer. From what I can figure, 60 gallons would be the smallest I should consider with more being better. I'm also thinking that a trailer setup will work the best for the amount of grass I want to spray. Then I can run some booms off the side and cover more ground, faster.

Tractor Supply has some diagrams on how to build your own, but I get lost reading them, so maybe I need to spend more time figuring it out. hahaha

If nothing comes along fairly soon, I might just build one.

Eddie