Do Your Part to Stop Cogongrass; The Time to Treat for this Invasive Weed is Approaching.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Communities, landowners and government agencies in the southeastern U.S. are rallying in an attempt to control cogongrass, a highly invasive Asian grass that has been steadily marching north from Florida and the Gulf Coast area into southern portions of Louisiana and Georgia, northern Mississippi and Alabama.

Classified as one of the world's top 10 worst weeds, cogongrass infests 1.25 billion acres worldwide and can be found throughout pastures, roadways, wetlands, savannas and forests in the southern United States. Cogongrass is a perennial that can grow to a height of 2 to 4 feet and rapidly overtakes native vegetation. Because it is highly flammable during the fall and winter seasons, cogongrass can cause fast-moving, intense fires that threaten native plants, animals and communities.

Cogongrass also limits the viability of ecosystems by eliminating native plant species used by native animals as forage, host plants or shelter. As one wildlife biologist puts it, large cogongrass infestations "create biological deserts that have no value as brood rearing habitat for quail and turkeys or as foraging grounds for various songbirds."(1)

The best approach to controlling cogongrass is to treat new infestations quickly, as they occur, and restore existing patches of cogongrass to native plant species. Using herbicides that target enzymes found only in plants - not humans, animals, birds, insects or fish - is also important for maintaining the viability of the local ecosystem.

"Research has shown that the most effective time to treat cogongrass with herbicides is late summer to early fall, usually September to early November," said James Miller, Research Ecologist, U.S.D.A. Forest Service. "We've found that treatments of Arsenal(R) herbicide Applicators Concentrate (Arsenal AC), Chopper(R) herbicide and glyphosate herbicide, applied as single herbicide treatments or in mixtures, work the best."

Timing is critical for cogongrass herbicide treatments because the herbicide must be applied while the grass is still growing, but before the first winter frost.

Arsenal(R) herbicide is recommended for controlling cogongrass in noncropland areas that include but are not limited to railroad, pipeline and highway rights-of-way, utility plant sites, petroleum tank farms, pumping installations, fence rows, storage areas, non-irrigation ditch banks, wildlife openings within noncropland sites and other similar areas. In addition, Arsenal can be used to control cogongrass in pasture and rangeland.

Cogongrass can grow in and around standing and flowing water, including estuary and marine sites. For these situations, Habitat(R) herbicide, which is labeled for use on cogongrass in areas where there is surface water, is an effective, long-term treatment.

More background on cogongrass can be found in the Winter 2004 issue of TimberLines at http://www.vmanswers.com/magazines.aspx?pid=848&Type=44. For specific recommendations on how to treat cogongrass, contact your BASF sales specialist at 1-800-545-9525 or visit www.vmanswers.com.

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(1) Browning, R., Cogongrass: Interesting Facts About The Perfect Weed, Wildlife Issues, Fall/Winter 2003.

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