green kyllinga - Ask Extension
In the fall I found out that half my grass was green kyllinga. You do not notice it until the fall when the seed pods appear top of the weed. During...
Knowledgebase
green kyllinga #812874
Asked October 02, 2022, 9:37 AM EDT
In the fall I found out that half my grass was green kyllinga. You do not notice it until the fall when the seed pods appear top of the weed. During the summer you just think it's normal grass. I believe it's in the sedge family. What post emergent will actually kill it? I have seen some products that kill most sedge but only suppress green kyllinga.
I know it's a perennial but it do any pre-emergents prevent new seeds from growing? Barricade or Dimension?
Sussex County Delaware
Expert Response
There are no pre-emergents that will completely control green kyllinga. The following publication from NC State lists both pre and post emergent herbicides that can be used in conjunction with each other for better control.
https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/weeds-in-turf/green-kyllinga/
The following publication from Rutgers lists some post emergent herbicides, when & how often to apply and whether or not a surfactant is needed.
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1290/
Dimension and Barricade are not listed for use on green kyllinga.
Kyllinga may be indicative of chronically excessive soil wetness, which should always be addressed as part of an overall treatment program. Over irrigating your lawn in summer is an invitation for kyllinga to spread. A thick, healthy lawn will shade the kyllinga seeds and help slow germination.
Hand pulling small patches, especially after a rain like this, can help. But due to the extensive rhizomes, this is not feasible for large patches. Right now, a sod cutter could be used to remove large patches and then the area could be immediately re-sodded. Another alternative would be to use glyphosate, kill off everything, rake and then re-sod after 2-3 weeks.
https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/weeds-in-turf/green-kyllinga/
The following publication from Rutgers lists some post emergent herbicides, when & how often to apply and whether or not a surfactant is needed.
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1290/
Dimension and Barricade are not listed for use on green kyllinga.
Kyllinga may be indicative of chronically excessive soil wetness, which should always be addressed as part of an overall treatment program. Over irrigating your lawn in summer is an invitation for kyllinga to spread. A thick, healthy lawn will shade the kyllinga seeds and help slow germination.
Hand pulling small patches, especially after a rain like this, can help. But due to the extensive rhizomes, this is not feasible for large patches. Right now, a sod cutter could be used to remove large patches and then the area could be immediately re-sodded. Another alternative would be to use glyphosate, kill off everything, rake and then re-sod after 2-3 weeks.
Hi - thanks for the information. Very helpful.
If I had an over watered lawn and corrected it so it was now watered properly would the Kyllinga die off?
I have a Rachio smart timer to control my lawn irrigation. It uses weather info from the internet to calculate watering time and duration. Tries to get the roots to grown deep.
What I feel the problem is that the irrigation companies get all the rotors in an irrigation zone working but they do not attempt to make sure all areas in a zone get the same amount of water. If you put down 10 empty tuna cans around the zone and watered for 30 would all the cans have same level of water? I would guess no. Not close.
Donald
Unfortunately, the kyllinga will not die off if you adjust the watering, but will adapt to a drier environment, just not be as vigorous, and be less likely to invade in the first place.
We water our lawns way too much in order to keep them green all summer. If you have a cool season grass, like fescue, rye or bluegrass, it is meant to go dormant in the hot weather, that's why it is considered a cool season grass. A warm season grass like bermuda or zoysia, will go dormant in the winter.
Attached is an interesting read on watering turf. It has the methodology, using cans, to figure out how much water you are applying with your irrigations system.
Your irrigation heads should be applying the same amount of water to like kind areas. For example, you will apply less water in the same time over a slope versus flat land as it would just run off. I also have smaller heads for smaller areas. But in that smaller area, they still put down the same amount of water in inches.
I have also attached a water turf chart to show how much water your turf needs per week by month. Please note this includes rain and we get on average 40" of rain in DE a year. Although most frequently, it is not evenly received throughout the year. I watered once per week, deeply, throughout the summer. Much of my grass was brownish tan and right now it is all bright green. I have a tall fescue blend and really sandy soil with a low organic content. It's all what you are willing to live with.
We water our lawns way too much in order to keep them green all summer. If you have a cool season grass, like fescue, rye or bluegrass, it is meant to go dormant in the hot weather, that's why it is considered a cool season grass. A warm season grass like bermuda or zoysia, will go dormant in the winter.
Attached is an interesting read on watering turf. It has the methodology, using cans, to figure out how much water you are applying with your irrigations system.
Your irrigation heads should be applying the same amount of water to like kind areas. For example, you will apply less water in the same time over a slope versus flat land as it would just run off. I also have smaller heads for smaller areas. But in that smaller area, they still put down the same amount of water in inches.
I have also attached a water turf chart to show how much water your turf needs per week by month. Please note this includes rain and we get on average 40" of rain in DE a year. Although most frequently, it is not evenly received throughout the year. I watered once per week, deeply, throughout the summer. Much of my grass was brownish tan and right now it is all bright green. I have a tall fescue blend and really sandy soil with a low organic content. It's all what you are willing to live with.
