Amy Wilber; Jay McCurdy, Ph.D.; Joby Czarnecki, Ph.D.; Barry Stewart, Ph.D.; Hongxu Dong, Ph.D.
Researchers assessed the effects of modern preemergence herbicides on plugged St. Augustinegrass establishment.
St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] is a widely grown lawn grass in the southeastern and Gulf-coastal United States. Unlike other warm-season turfgrasses that spread through rhizomes, St. Augustinegrass relies solely on stoloniferous growth. While the total acreage of St. Augustinegrass is unknown, it is the most used lawn grass in Florida (11) and is widely grown in Texas (10). Typically, St. Augustinegrass is established from plugs or sod, and weed competition can slow this process. Weed-infested areas are undesirable and require postemergence weed control, often achieved with herbicides. Although preemergence herbicides can prevent annual weed growth, they might hinder turfgrass establishment.
During St. Augustinegrass establishment, common grassy weeds like goosegrass [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn], crabgrass (Digitaria spp.) and annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) are often present. Preemergence herbicides such as atrazine (AAtrex, Syngenta), oxadiazon (Ronstar, Envu), S-metolachlor (Pennant Magnum, Syngenta), prodiamine (Barricade, Syngenta), pendimethalin (Pendulum, BASF), and dithiopyr (Dimension, Corteva Agriscience) are commonly used for controlling these weeds in St. Augustinegrass sod production (4, 8). However, not all of these herbicides are approved for use on St. Augustinegrass during establishment. These herbicides each have a unique spectrum of weeds they control, but there is limited research on their effects on St. Augustinegrass sod production. Moreover, some studies do not align with standard production practices and label guidelines.
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