How to Kill Nut Grass in Crops
- 1). Examine your cropland for the appearance of small nutgrass plants. Pulling these out before they form more than five leaves will help remove the plants before they form new tubers. While this may be impractical in large fields and croplands, this is the most effective way of eradicating a nutgrass infestation in small crops during the early stages of development.
- 2). Correct field grade and drainage to discourage the growth of sedges that thrive in damp areas. Depending on the geology of your cropland, this may involve hauling in additional topsoil to fill in hollows or installing drainage ditches or culverts to help water flow out of low pockets of land.
- 3). Apply a pre-emergence herbicide that contains metalochar to the soil before the nutsege begins growing in the spring. Apply this chemical using an over-the-top application, mixing and distributing it according to the manufacturer's instructions. Follow the application with overhead irrigation to help wash the solution off the cultivated crop plants and into the soil.
- 4). Spray actively growing nutgrass with herbicides that contain bentazon, paraquat or halosulfuron, paying careful attention to the warnings and application instructions. All of these are toxic and may damage some varieties of cultivated plants, including crop grasses. Apply these on a dry, calm day to avoid over-spray that can damage plant growth in surrounding fields, pastures and yards.
- 5). Apply a product that contains glyphosate to harvested fields that contain actively growing nutgrass. Use this systemic herbicide to kill the underground tubers. This chemical kills all types of vegetation, making it necessary to apply it only when desirable plants are not growing in the area of treated cropland.
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