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Accepted manuscript

Plant growth regulators differentially suppress goosegrass and smooth crabgrass in creeping bentgrass turf

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2024

John M Peppers
Affiliation:
Graduate Research Assistant, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA 24060
J. Scott McElroy
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Crop Soil and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA 36849.
Shawn D Askew*
Affiliation:
Professor, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA 24060.
*
Author for correspondence: Shawn Askew, Professor, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24060 Email: saskew@vt.edu
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Abstract

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Goosegrass and smooth crabgrass control in creeping bentgrass is difficult due to a lack of selective herbicides. Based on preliminary field observations, we hypothesized that paclobutrazol and flurprimidol would reduce the overall competitiveness of goosegrass and smooth crabgrass in creeping bentgrass. Greenhouse and field studies were designed to evaluate the effect of several plant growth regulators (PGRs) on goosegrass and smooth crabgrass competitive indices. In greenhouse studies, flurprimidol, paclobutrazol, trinexapac-ethyl, and prohexadione-calcium were applied either preemergence only or preemergence plus two biweekly postemergence applications to goosegrass and smooth crabgrass plants to simulate the first 1.5 months of typical PGR programs utilized on golf courses. Two wk after the final postemergence treatment, above-ground biomass, and root biomass were recorded. Programmatic flurprimidol and paclobutrazol applications reduced smooth crabgrass above-ground biomass 67 and 69%, respectively, and more than trinexapac ethyl or prohexadione-calcium. When averaged across application programs, flurprimidol and paclobutrazol reduced smooth crabgrass root biomass 74% and goosegrass biomass 73-80%. Field studies were established to further evaluate the influence of PGR on smooth crabgrass coverage in creeping bentgrass turf. Treatments consisting of flurprimidol, trinexapac-ethyl, flurprimidol plus trinexapac-ethyl, paclobutrazol, and fenoxaprop-p were applied every three wk from April to August. Weed coverage data were collected throughout the growing season, and final smooth crabgrass control data were collected at the end of the season. In general, flurprimidol-containing treatments more effectively reduced smooth crabgrass coverage throughout the growing season than trinexapac ethyl. After the studies, flurprimidol containing programs controlled smooth crabgrass 68-73%, greater than any other PGR program evaluated. Results from these studies indicate flurprimidol may be used to control smooth crabgrass or goosegrass in creeping bentgrass turf effectively. These are the first reported data regarding the use of flurprimidol for smooth crabgrass or goosegrass control in turf.

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2024