Clebson G. Gonçalves,* J. Scott McElroy, J.M. Peppers, Suma Basak, Glenn B. Fain, and Steve Li
Herbicides applied in landscapes can present a challenge in both planting and maintenance due to the diversity of plant species used in these areas (Marble et al., 2015). Herbicide injury to non-target species may occur more frequently on home lawn situations because homeowners do not typically have access to quality application technology or have the necessary credentials and training to obtain or use certain herbicides. Additionally, non-target injury can occur when plant roots expand outside mulched landscape beds into the soils in the lawn (Patton et al., 2013). This increases the risk of damage to non-target plants in the lawn or adjacent land scape bed.
Metsulfuron-methyl is a sulfonylurea herbicide that is effective for general broadleaf weed control in warm-season turfgrasses. Excessive rate misapplications are primarily attributed to the low cost (< $10/oz) and the extremely low product rate (0.01 oz per 1000 ft2). With the increased use of metsulfuron-methyl, an increased occurrence of tree damage has been observed, especially in oak species (Quercusspp.). Previous cases of suspected metsulfuron-methyl-induced injury have caused stem dieback and adventitious leaf formation on the stem base (Fig. 1). Our research objective was to determine if metsulfuron-methyl injury could be induced on select tree species and to determine if such injury symptoms are similar to those previously observed in sus-pected metsulfuron-methyl tree injury cases.
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