Special Feature >>>
Annual
Blue-Eyed By Michael L. Flessner, Research Associate, and J. Scott McElroy, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Auburn University
C
Al ab am a Tu rf Tim es >>> S umm er 20 13
ommon or annual blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium rosulatum) is actually not a grass at all. It is a member of the iris family (Iridaceae). Blue-eyed grass forms a rosette with compressed and glabrous leaves. The flowers have six petals and can be blue, white or yellow. Regardless of color, the flower has a darkened center, which is where the name “blueeyed� grass comes from. The weed is found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states from Virginia to Texas. Blue-eyed grass functions as a winter annual weed in managed turfgrass, but it can be a perennial in certain areas and situations. Although it has not traditionally been a troublesome weed in turfgrass, some turfgrass managers have recently reported the weed escaping pre-emergence control following
Specticle (indaziflam) application (applied at normal timing for annual bluegrass [Poa annua] control). Due to lack of previous reports to the contrary, we presume that blue-eyed grass is well controlled from other common preemergence herbicides, such as Barricade (prodiamine), Pendulum AquaCap (pendimethalin), Dimension (dithiopyr), Ronstar (oxadiazon) and others.
Reports of blue-eyed grass escaping pre-emergence control has led to research evaluating post-emergence control options for the weed. Since blue-eyed grass is not a grass, it does not respond to graminicides in the same manner that grass weeds do. Similarly, it does not respond to broadleaf herbicides in the same manner that broadleaf weeds do. Therefore, we eval-
Table 1. Herbicides evaluated for post-emergence blue-eyed grass control.* Herbicide
Active ingredient(s)
Product rate
Revolver
foramsulfuron
17.4 fl. oz./acre
Celsius
dicamba, iodosulfuron, thiencarbazone
4.9 oz./acre
Tribute Total
thiencarbazone, foramsulfuron, halosulfuron
3.2 oz./acre
Negate
rimsulfuron, metsulfuron
1.5 oz./acre
Trimec Classic
2,4-D, MCPP, dicamba
64 fl. oz./acre
Telar
chlorsulfuron
3 oz./acre
Dismiss South
sulfentrazone, imazethapyr
14.4 fl. oz./acre
Image
imazaquin
11.4 oz./acre
Drive XLR8
quinclorac
64 fl. oz./acre
Monument
trifloxysulfulron
0.53 oz./acre
*All treatments included non-ionic surfactant at 0.25% v/v, except Revolver and Drive XLR8, which included methylated seed oil at 1% v/v.
18