Another weed ID NE Iowa

[edenl01]

This weed has exploded in the part of the yard I renovated last year. I don't see it anywhere else.

Background: cool almost cold spring so far and very wet. My soil doesn't drain well so extra wet makes it worse.

I think from what I've read and from some different weed ID tools that it is poa Trivialis. It is rooted very well I may add.

The fanning outward, color of the grass the membrane ligule point me toward Poa Trivialis.

No material was brought in for the Reno and it was top dressed with peat.

[napper]

Looks like barnyard grass to me.

[TimmyG]

Looks like barnyard grass to me.

Buzz. This grass has a ligule. Barnyardgrass does not, and it's also much wider leaved.

Unfortunately, I only know what this grass is not. It's also not Poa trivialis, or at least not like any I have ever seen in pictures or my own lawn (and I have tons of triv). I'm very curious to know what it is.

[edenl01]

I'm very curious too TimmyG. I might see if I can send some to Iowa state for an ID. It looks absolutely ridiculous. Some of the spots are fanned out 3+ feet in diameter. Whatever it is is seeding also.

[napper]

Okay, it kinda looked like this - http://weeds.brisbane.qld.gov.au/weeds/awnless-barnyard

[TimmyG]

In the meantime, don't let it go to seed. Mind you, a mature seed head is often the key to a positive ID.

[edenl01]

I put a trouble call in with the ISU horticulture department. Hopefully I'll get to chat with them about it. It appears as if the weed is in the early stages of seeding and the seed heads resemble poa Trivialis seed heads. Not saying it's a dead ringer for triv but looks very similar to the pictures I've looked at. I did pull a plant to get a look at the root mass. It is rooted down 3-4 inches and Without rhizomes Had to of germinated last fall. It's tough because if it's Triv you have two options. If it's not triv the options open up a bit.

[g-man]

^ +1 to TimmyG
When in doubt I hit it with round up. I don't like to wait for it to seed to ID.

Have you compare it to poa bulbosa?

[TimmyG]

Maybe it is Poa trivialis? A few things initially steered me away from that ID. First, unlike with Poa annua and KBG, you never see seed heads on triv if you mow. Do you not mow? Second, the long seed heads (inflorescences) distracted me from the much shorter blades of the grass clump. Seriously, all your eyes first notice in those pics are the seed heads. Third, pics of triv seed heads are seemingly hard to come by online. I've got more than my share of firsthand experience with triv, but I honestly know/knew nothing of its seedhead appearance. And lastly, you mentioned that it was "rooted very well". Everyone here acknowledges that triv pulls up super easy. Personally, I've never tried.

Check this out:

[Green]

Do the blade tips look like KBG? If so...

Could be the elusive Poa B. Some members, including myself, have fought it.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13517&hilit=bulbosa

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13517&hilit=bulbosa ... 20#p193137

Edit: I see someone else mentioned it already. Hard to tell from those photos, but it may be Poa B.

[edenl01]

Thanks Green and Gman I think you guys nailed it.

Green- in the first link that goes back to a Jglongisland thread there was also a map for different poa types and where they are located. Looks like about 5 counties were highlighted for poa bulbosa in Iowa. Guess where I live?

Looks like there will be a few more brown spots in the reno yippie!

[TimmyG]

I'm warming up to the ID of Poa bulbosa by g-man and Green.

[edenl01]

It makes me wonder how the suspected poa bulbosa got there. Was it already in the soil and I didn't notice, contaminated seed, birds, wind etc. I'll probably never know for sure. The write up on it says it can stay dormant for years. Perhaps the renovation conditions were right for it to show its ugly face.

[edenl01]

Sending a sample to Iowa State. He wants to see it in person. His off the cuff ID was alkalia grass. First thing that pops up when you google that? Commonly infests Kentucky bluegrass fields in Oregon. Nice.


http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui ... /1957/3943

[g-man]

Did he provide any control method other than round up?

[edenl01]

G-man,

No he didn't make any control recommendations. More or less just told me to overnight it to him so he could see it.

[edenl01]

Bulbous bluegrass was ruled out by ISU. They say that an easy way to check for bulbous bluegrass is the vernation. Poa bulbosa is folded the grass I have is round or rolled.

Seems pretty confident that it is weeping alkaliagrass. Puccinellia distans. Said he grew it while he was studying in Colorado. It's actually used on purpose in the west because it will grow on high salt soil.

He said that some seed producers rotate crops between kbg and this alkali grass. Said it's been an increasing issue that past 4 or 5 years. Also noted that the seeds are very similar to kbg and it is making its way even into sod quality seed.

He was giving the sample to a lady that "eats sleeps and breathes" grass and they were going to put the seeds under a microscope to check it out.

Not terrible service for the price of shipping.

[nocsious]

That's my alma mater. Jack Trice Stadium has the nicest natural field turf I've ever seen after a season of football. Those guys do a fantastic job.

[g-man]

So round up is the only option?

[edenl01]

R/U or pulling it are the options. He said " You can beat this one, quack grass on the other hand I've learned to live with".

FYI he said he hasn't figured out a way to beat quack, even with certainty. Said that if a sod farm calls about an infestation he tells them to fallow for 12 months.