How to get rid of wheatgrass, a description of the best herbicides and weed control measures

Any gardener is well aware of wheatgrass. It is omnipresent, and the fight against it is carried out in vegetable beds, berry gardens, and flower beds. It seems that there is no limit to the weed's viability, aggressiveness and ability to spread, and only a special herbicide against harmful wheatgrass can stop it. Along with such a drastic remedy, there are other methods and techniques that allow you to get rid of a malicious weed.

What does creeping wheatgrass look like?

The weed belongs to the cereal family and has a multi-year development cycle. The height of the plant stems is from 40 cm to 150 cm. Its leaves are bare, linear, about 30 cm long, up to 1 cm wide. Higher up the plant stem they become narrower (2-8 mm).

The rhizomes are flexible, long, creeping, located horizontally in the soil, at a depth of 15 cm. The weed flowers are collected in spikelets. Their length is 2 cm, width is 0.7 cm. The spikelets are made up of spikelets, the height of which reaches 30 cm. Flowering can be observed in June-July.

Why is the weed dangerous?

All weeds are extremely tenacious, but creeping wheatgrass is one of the first places in terms of harmfulness and aggressiveness.

Cord-shaped rhizomes are never at rest. Even after slight damage, the weed buds begin to grow. Moving horizontally in the soil, the roots gradually branch, rise above the surface and give rise to a new plant.

In the second half of June, the rhizomes change direction of growth, move vertically downwards, thicken, and form small tubers for wintering.

The danger of the weed lies in the difficulty of controlling it. The length of the rhizomes can reach hundreds of kilometers over an area of ​​1 hectare and have 250 million buds, which represent potential wheatgrass plants. On plowing they lie at a depth of about 12 cm, on dense soil - 5 cm. Their growth force is very high, the roots can penetrate potatoes, boards and other obstacles.

Control measures

Measures to destroy the weed must be systemic in nature and represent not individual operations, but a whole range of control methods.

Agrotechnical methods of weed extermination are considered the safest.

Herbicides are used only as a last resort when other methods do not achieve the goal.

The main methods for maintaining the purity of crops from creeping wheatgrass include:

• tillage;
• suppression by cultivated plants;
• crop rotation;
• mulching;
• the use of green manure and other agrotechnical techniques.

Using herbicides

Chemicals (herbicides) can effectively fight weeds and destroy up to 95% of plants. Before using a pesticide, the drug is selected taking into account a number of criteria:

• on what principle does the herbicide “work” - selective or continuous;
• method of penetration of the drug into the plant;
• spectrum of influence - universal or anticereal;
• the type of crop being protected and its response to the chemical.

Electoral

To destroy creeping wheatgrass, graminicides are used - herbicides of selective action on crops of broad-leaved crops. The drug "Quickstep", which belongs to this group, is used on plantings of flax, rapeseed, and sugar beets.

In vineyards, the weed is exterminated using selective herbicides - “Nabu”, “Fusilade Super”. On other crops, Zellek, Targa, and Titus are used. They are used strictly according to the instructions, taking into account the specific type of plants being treated.

Manufacturers of the drugs warn that they are used once every 3 years. The effectiveness of such chemicals is about 80% and is inferior to continuous herbicides, since the wheatgrass rhizomes are not completely destroyed.

Continuous action

Such herbicides are produced based on glyphosate. It is effective throughout the entire growing season of the weed. The drug can be used in fields and gardens 3 weeks before sowing, planting cultivated plants or 2 weeks after harvesting.

The most effective herbicides include:

• Helios is an analogue of Roundup; other dicamba-based herbicides are added for greater effectiveness.
• "Neutrin BT", similar to the herbicide "Miura", has an affordable price.
• "Maitus", used on corn crops.
• "Metrizan" - used for potatoes and soybeans.
• “Base” - the herbicide inhibits the emergence of wheatgrass on corn and other crops.

Organic farming methods

Recently, organic farming methods have become increasingly popular among gardeners. Thanks to them, the area is cleared of wheatgrass without chemicals and without disturbing the natural balance.

EM drugs

Unlike aggressive herbicides, EM preparations do not adversely affect the soil. The product contains effective microorganisms (EM) that penetrate the soil and eat unwanted organic elements (weeds). The roots die as a result of the fermentation process caused by EM. The following preparations are suitable for treating soil affected by creeping wheatgrass:

• "Renaissance";
• "Shine";
• "Emiks";
• "EM-molasses";
• "Baikal EM-1";
• "Tanir forte."

The effectiveness of use is not one hundred percent, as after a herbicide, so the method is used in combination with other methods.

Mulching the soil

Mulching the soil helps to easily get rid of the rhizomes of creeping wheatgrass. Its layer (hay, grass, sawdust) must be at least 30 cm. Moisture is retained under the mulch, earthworms are activated, and soil fertility is improved. The plant tries to emerge from the soil, the rhizomes rise higher and are located in the mulch. At this point, pulling it completely out of the ground is not difficult.

Green manure

By sowing and mowing some plants in the flowering phase, they not only improve the condition of the soil, but also destroy weeds, in particular wheatgrass. Such crops are called green manure.

To achieve the goal, the soil is cultivated or dug up with half a shovel, and sown with rye or oats. After a month and a half, the plants reach 15-20 cm, they are cut off, and the soil is cultivated again. The area is being reseeded. After repeating the procedure three times, the malicious weed disappears completely.

Agrotechnical techniques

These methods are most effective for personal plots and allow you to get rid of creeping wheatgrass in small areas.

The techniques require a lot of hard work and patience.

Picking roots

The method is quite labor-intensive; it requires carefully selecting the roots from the ground, digging with a pitchfork and trying to ensure that not a single piece of the plant remains in the soil. It takes a lot of effort, but it is almost impossible to achieve complete purity of the soil from rhizomes.

Blackout

If large areas of the garden are infested with creeping wheatgrass, it is destroyed by blocking the light with black film. It is spread over the surface of the soil, covered with hay or straw on top and left in this state for the whole summer.

Darkening can be done in a more complex way:

1. Cover the weeds with sheets of cardboard.
2. Sprinkle a layer of mulch on top.
3. Place fertile soil on it, forming a bed.
4. Strengthen it on the sides with stones.
5. Sow the desired vegetable crops on the ridge.

Grinding roots

The method is that the roots of the wheatgrass are very finely crushed using a motor cultivator, plowing to a depth of no more than 20 cm.

Dormant buds are stimulated to germinate, produce roots, and plants appear above the surface.In this state, they are easy to pull out of the soil using special tools or manually.

Folk remedies and recipes

In addition to mechanical folk methods for destroying creeping wheatgrass, there are chemical ones. Common household substances are used as treatment preparations, which may be less effective than herbicides, but the harm from them is minimal.

Ethanol

The method is considered effective and easy to use. The alcohol is diluted with water ten times and the soil is treated between the plants. Liquid consumption is 5 liters per 1 hundred square meters. According to reviews, the method rids the area of ​​weeds for 1 year.

Lemon acid

Ordinary citric acid (3 tablespoons) is diluted in 1 liter of water and treated with wheatgrass. The weed dies faster if spraying is carried out in clear sunny weather.

Preventing the appearance of wheatgrass on the site

In order to prevent wheatgrass from occupying the entire sown area, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures:

• periodic mulching of beds with grass and straw;
• constant weeding;
• crop rotation;
• use of green manure;
• drip irrigation;
• protecting row spacing with black film.