Johnson grass in pasture - how to battle it?

[Virginia_Born]

I know this is an ancient thread but I thought I would post some info on a relatively new product ( I have no connection with or financial interest in the company).

Tenacity - does in a variety of obnoxious plants by destroying their ability to produce chlorophyll and thereby killing the plant. It does have warnings so read the label carefully.

It is also rather expensive at about $60 for 8 ounces (Amazon, ebay etc) but 1/8 ounce makes a gallon so, 8 ounces makes 64 gallons.

Hope this helps some that are having Johnson Grass issues. BTW, it will also do in Nimblewill.

[Guilherme]

Interesting stuff. I have lots of Johnson Grass and Foxtail (which has made large area inroads in East TN). My hesitation at this point is that Tenacity also controls clover. That’s not a good thing if you like clover in your grazing pastures (and I do). I’m going to research it further.

Johnson Grass grows VERY tall, and I wondering if a weed wiper might be a good way to apply RoundUp.

Here is one type:

http://grassworksmanufacturing.com/grassworks-pull-type-weed-wiper/

Here is another:

https://www.smuckermfg.net/weed-wipers (Note that this site took a LONG time to load for me after three tries; they may be having technical issues.)

Here is a seller of these products including kits to convert existing boom or boomless sprayers to a “wiper” configuration.

http://www.spraysmarter.com/liquid-application/weed-wipers.html

Since I already have two boom sprayers I’m very seriously looking at a conversion kit.

Wiping has a significant advantage over spraying if you dealing with tall weeds in that you apply a very small amount of chemical directly to the weed you want to control. That has both cost and environmental benefits. If it is operationally effective then I’ll go that way.

G.

[vineyridge]

I know this is an old thread, and I haven’t read the old replies, but there is a herbicide especially for bermuda grass pastures called Pastora. It works. It actually kills Johnson grass along with a lot of other pasture weeds, but it is very expensive. Bayer claims that it also works on foxtail.

If you get a rope wick applicator, Mississippi State says that using glysophate through it is the cheapest way to control foxtail, but you need to get it before it goes to seed.

[EmilyM]

my farmer also told me Johnson grass seed is in bird seed so the can spread it from elsewhere if your neighbors feed the birds. Not sure if this is farmer lore or actual fact.

[crosscreeksh]

@katarine

mow the snot out of it.

THIS!!! Just keep mowing it until it gives up!! Horses will eat it without harm when it is young.

[Guilherme]

@EmilyM

my farmer also told me Johnson grass seed is in bird seed so the can spread it from elsewhere if your neighbors feed the birds. Not sure if this is farmer lore or actual fact.

Johnson Grass spreads by both seed and rhizomes. Mowing alone will not do the job.

G.

[clanter]

A single plant may produce more than 80,000 seeds in a single growing season, and 275 feet of rhizomes. Seeds shatter easily and fall to the ground beneath plants that produce them. Instead of germinating uniformly, seeds can remain dormant and produce plants over several years. Johnsongrass seed can remain viable in the soil for more than 10 years.

https://extension2.missouri.edu/g4872

I just assumed it was a weed that was here but

Introduced to South Carolina from Turkey in the early 1800s as a foraging crop. It was named after Colonel William Johnson, who introduced this species to his fertile river bottom farm in Alabama around 1840. This grass spread so quickly that it was the species target of the first federal grant specifically for weed control in 1900.

http://www.tsusinvasives.org/home/database/sorghum-halepense