Turf
11 AUG 2023
This week, I've decided to tell you about one of the problems that all golf courses must contend with, and which is becoming a scourge for our grassed areas. I'm talking about crabgrass. You can see it scattered in the rough and it can even be found in shorter bentgrass areas. It is a very invasive annual weed.
Crabgrass generally germinates in late spring and spends the first few weeks of its life incognito, resembling young, pale-green blades of grass. However, it reaches maturity in August when its stems become tinged with mauve. That's when things get problematic.
Crabgrass is a particularly tenacious weed that loves to take advantage of summer droughts to grab all the nutrients dedicated to the lawn.
This weed is a grass. In other words, turf and crabgrass belong to the same family. This means it's much harder to get rid of than its relatives, as a broadleaf weed treatment has no effect on it. So you have to use other methods to get rid of it.
A very effective herbicide is available to neutralize it, but the application must be made very early in the spring to prevent germination of the seed left over from the previous summer. At the start of the season, we can't see it, so we need to keep track of where it is at this time of year, so we can control it the following season.
Like most summer annuals, it dies when hit by frost in autumn, having produced thousands of seeds that remain dormant until spring.
Upcoming maintenance
- Fungicide in fairways for dollar spot
- Topdressing on greens and tees
- Cleaning up harmful vegetation
Marc-André Doré,
Course Superintendant