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Johnsongrass Invasion

bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,614
288
Appalachia
This stuff is worse than the poison hemlock invasion around here! In 3 years time, we went from not having any on the farm, to having a 30' wide ring of it around our 3 acre crop field. It makes great screening cover, but it's concerning how fast it's invaded. I'm also (supposedly) allergic to it. Anyone else seeing this stuff everywhere these days?

REALDIRT1.jpg
 
The USDA considers it a noxious weed. I'm happy that it's ringing our corn field, but I'm concerned about the encroachment on our hay fields and the road banks around here. It's creating safety hazards at some intersections.
 
Stuff is horrible and used in pasture mixes as it can be decent feed for cows. Here is a good link on it.

extension.okstate.edu

Johnsongrass in Pastures: Weed or Forage? - Oklahoma State University

An aid for Johngrass identification and maintenance practices that also points out the benefits and drawbacks of weed in pastures.
extension.okstate.edu extension.okstate.edu

I find that many weeds, like smartweed - can be controlled by controlling the PH of the soil. This is not an end-all-be-all fix but can help tremendously reduce the population density of the weeds. Combine that with herbicide applications in the beginning, and we can have a major positive impact on the reduction.

Johnsongrass however, is very well adapted to a wide range of soils -

"Johnsongrass is adapted to a wide range of soil types within a pH range of 5 to 7.5. Therefore, Johnsongrass is mainly found in arable lands, orchards, open waste grounds, roadsides, pastures, irrigated canals and ditches. "

Just another plant we should try to control.
 
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