Bermuda in my Meyer Zoysia

Rentals – posted 15 June 2009 11:15

I’m starting to find bermuda spots in my new sod. It’s coming up through the cracks where it hasn’t filled in yet. My neighbor told me there was something I could treat or kill the bermuda with. Any Ideas without affecting my new lawn? N. Georgia area.

Turfguy_UF – posted 15 June 2009 15:33

quote:Originally posted by seed:… the postemergence herbicide Fusilade II (active ingredient fluazifop, fluazifop-P-butyl) is labeled by Zeneca (currently merging with Novartis under a new company name Syngenta) for control of bermudagrass in zoysia. The label says “Applications should be made in late spring (around June 1) and repeated about every 28 to 30 days.” (Timing apparently based on northern temperate areas.) The label does not say how many applications are needed, or whether it is possible to eradicate bermuda in zoysia. Rates can vary from 2 to 5 fluid ounces per acre, depending on the situation. The label contains other cautions and should be read prior to application, and followed.

In research by the University of Georgia’s Dr. B. J. Johnson, two successive years of treatment (two applications per year, both at higher than the present labeled rate) resulted in reduction of bermudagrass from 35% to 7%, and increase of zoysia cover from 65% to 85%.

The selective removing one perennial grass from another perennial grass is often a tedious project requiring diligence.

Phil

Pretty solid advice there from Phil. A lot of great information on these forums if you try search for it first. Even in google a lot of turf problems pop up on this site.

TurfGuy

green in atlanta – posted 17 June 2009 12:23

quote:Originally posted by Rentals:I’m starting to find bermuda spots in my new sod. It’s coming up through the cracks where it hasn’t filled in yet. My neighbor told me there was something I could treat or kill the bermuda with. Any Ideas without affecting my new lawn? N. Georgia area.

You are now learning what so many already have, and there are no easy answers. Yes, there is a product – Fusillade – that is purported to control bermuda, but be careful!!! I nearly lost my entire empire zoysia lawn to such an experiment last summer. The first treatment was a spot treatment that did in fact injure the bermuda –it looked dead. But it also injured the zoysia. Within a month, the zoysia appeared to have recovered,and my lawn service came for a second application — this time doing the entire lawn. The results were catastrophic. I spent the second half of last summer and all of the winter wondering if my grass was dead or alive. After an unusually long green-up this spring, it has recovered and looks quite beautiful. However, since it took so long to green-up and mature this spring, the bermuda got a head start and has spread more than before.

If you decide you want to try it, go ahead, but here are my recommendations: 1) Do NOT do it yourself. No matter what. Mine was done by a professional, and it still nearly killed my lawn. 2)You have a fairly unique problem. Find a professional that has actually used the Fusillade product (successfully) before. If possible, find one that is familiar with the combination of Fusillade with Triclopyr, as there was a study that showed the combination to be just as lethal to the bermuda but less so to the zoysia. This will probably add to your cost significantly, by the way. 3) If the bermuda is isolated to certain areas, try spot treating. 4) If you turf is in any way drought stressed, do NOT proceed. One complicating factor in my case may have been that we were in an epic drought in Georgia last year, and my turf may have been weakened by those conditions already.Whatever you decide, good luck. I know from experience how frustrating it is to spend several thousand dollars on a new zoysia lawn, only to have it invaded by pesky, agressive bermuda grass. What’s worse is, I am not convinced it’s an actual invasion, but more likely the result of lax farming practices in the sod farming industry. I am pretty sure my sod came with that crap already in it. I say that because it is not the weedy type of common bermuda, but some other strain.