The Knockout Blow

Poa annua is one of the world’s most prevalent and highly adaptable turf weed species. It is a cool-season species that primarily reproduces by seed, with individual plants generally producing as many as 2,500 seeds.  

This species is believed to have as many as 1,000 unique bio-types. It can be found on every continent on the globe. For golf course superintendents, effectively controlling Poa annua is an extremely difficult challenge. 

 
While many new and different Poa annua control products have come and gone over the years, some more effective than others and some more cost effective than others, one of the more tried and true, cost effective options for controlling Poa annua is UPI’s Poa Constrictor™, containing the active ingredient ethofumesate.  Poa Constrictor™ has numerous features and benefits. 

• First, it is extremely versatile in that it can be used in both the fall and spring growing seasons.
• Second, it is safe to use on most cool season species, as well as several warm season species. 
• Third, it is a more concentrated, 4SC water-based formulation that minimizes the likelihood of unwanted phytotoxicity. 
• Fourth, it provides broad spectrum control, working both pre-emergently and post emergently. 
• Fifth, the functionality of Poa Constrictor™ includes pre-post control of Poa annua, pre-post control of smooth and large crabgrass, pre-emergent control of green and yellow foxtail, pre-emergent control of certain clovers, pigweeds, purslanes, and chickweeds, and finally, strong suppression of most nutsedge species. 

If considering using UPI’s Poa Constrictor™ in a weed management program, the rates and frequencies depend on where you are located and what turf species predominates. For reducing and/or eliminating Poa annua in cool-season species such as creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, or tall fescue, it is the label recommendation to make minimally two applications in the fall, roughly thirty days apart and follow this up with minimally one early spring application. For warm-season turf applications, Poa Constrictor can be used as an effective tool in a few different ways. It is commonly used to suppress Bermudagrass in St. Augustinegrass stands by making two to three applications in the spring. It can also be used to control Poa annua in both dormant and non-dormant Bermudagrass stands by making two to three applications in the fall, according to the labeled rates and timing.   

IMAGES: Richard Old www.xidservices.com