How did I get away with Murder?

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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andy10917
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How did I get away with Murder?

Post by andy10917 » October 11th, 2009, 11:30 am

All right - I'm stumped.

My 2009 renovation has almost no weeds - grassy or broadleaf. I know that is beyond the pale.

How did that happen? Here's what I did...

In late July, I treated my Moonlight/America/Emblem lawn that had a bad Poa Triv problem with Certainty. It also had some PR that had survived the no-RU renovation of 2008. Oh yeah, and the standard amount of Poa Annua, some plantains here and there, a few wild violets and a patch or two of chickweed.

So, the Certainty wipes out everything non-KBG except for plantains - and a tiny amount of Poa Triv that survives. Without time to wait another 3 weeks for a second Certainty treatment (which I'm sure would have worked), I nuked the lawn with RU, core-aerated all to hell, and slit-seeded.

Almost no weeds.

The only thing that comes to mind is that Certainty might have some pre-emergent capabilities. I can find nothing claiming that, however.

Any thoughts on how I lucked into an incredible situation? Also, has anyone ever seen any pre-m capabilities from Certainty?

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clay&crabgrass
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Re: How did I get away with Murder?

Post by clay&crabgrass » October 11th, 2009, 11:41 am

you think they'll ever get around to "Roundup Ready" grass seed?

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andy10917
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Re: How did I get away with Murder?

Post by andy10917 » October 11th, 2009, 11:57 am

If there is RU-ready grass, what will kill it with? And God forbid, how long before the genes cross over to Poa Annua? The RU-ready gene has already crossed-over to some farm weeds.

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turf_toes
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Re: How did I get away with Murder?

Post by turf_toes » October 11th, 2009, 12:23 pm

andy10917 wrote:If there is RU-ready grass, what will kill it with? And God forbid, how long before the genes cross over to Poa Annua? The RU-ready gene has already crossed-over to some farm weeds.
Roundup ready or resistant turf-grass already exists.

There are a couple of cultivars of Fescue (Marathon, Bonsai and Medallion) and Bent grass that have been bred to be resistant to applications of roundup.

Of course, as you can imagine, this isn't without controversy. If you end up with the roundup resistant Bent grass in your KBG lawn, you're not likely to be very happy about it.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: How did I get away with Murder?

Post by MorpheusPA » October 11th, 2009, 12:34 pm

I've never heard of (or noticed) any pre-M capability from Certainty. However, when I've used it I've noticed it does a major number even on weeds that aren't listed, so I think you essentially did a 3 week fallowing by killing the weeds, waiting, and killing again with the Round Up. Congratulations!

Also, I think mulching the truck driver helped you literally get away with murder... :-)

TT: RU resistant fescue? Lovely. Just lovely. I gotta admit, as one of the least harmful wide-spectrum herbicides, I'd rather not lose RU.


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turf_toes
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Re: How did I get away with Murder?

Post by turf_toes » October 11th, 2009, 12:40 pm

Morph,

Yeah. I think this is going to be a big problem down the road. Apparently, there are now even more roundup resistant Tall Fescue cultivars than I originally cited.

Check out thislink for a few more.

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andy10917
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Re: How did I get away with Murder?

Post by andy10917 » October 11th, 2009, 12:56 pm

Also, I think mulching the truck driver helped you literally get away with murder... :-)
What tow-truck driver? I don't remember a tow-truck driver. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

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Dchall_San_Antonio
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Re: How did I get away with Murder?

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » October 11th, 2009, 7:59 pm

I would have waited until at least May to shoot my mouth off about not getting any poa. :D
I have my fingers crossed for you and hope it works out.

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