Weed Control In Turf And Landscapes

Integrated weed management in turf and landscape.

- Ramdas Kanissery

Integrated weed management approach primarily refers to a harmony between cultural, mechanical and chemical measures to control weeds in turf and landscape. Chemical weed control necessitates the prudent use of herbicides. Though there are many herbicides available globally, the availability of herbicides in the UAE is limited as many are banned and restricted in the country by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. We examine how to adopt the use of locally registered and available turf herbicides to control major weeds in turfgrass and landscapes.

There are various types of herbicides including Pre-emergent herbicides which are applied before the weed seeds germination in the soil and require several applications depending on the nature of weed species and sprouting timeline. Pre-emergent herbicides like Prodiamine (Barricade) and Pennant Magnum(S-Metolachlor) are available for professional use and are known to control more than 30 weeds including crabgrass, goose grass, and spurge in the region. Post-emergent herbicides are applied after the weed sprouting. The efficacy of these chemicals depends on the stage of weed growth during the application. Post-emergence herbicides are most effective when the weeds are young and tender. Locally available turf herbicides include Mesotrione (Tenacity), Trifloxysulfuronsodium(Monument), Glyphosate (Touchdown), Sulfentrazone (Spartan) and Halosulfuron methyl (Inpool).