Ethofumesate for crabgrass prevention?

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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philcav7
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Ethofumesate for crabgrass prevention?

Post by philcav7 » October 13th, 2022, 12:38 am

How well does it work for pre-M control of crabgrass?

I will be seeding in the spring (and probably renovating in the fall) and likely won’t be able to use prodiamine for a while.

I know etho is commonly used for Poa, but haven’t seen much discussion on its crabgrass prevention. Does it work well? I do have acclaim that I can use in the summer, but hoping it keeps my neighbors weed population out of my yard.

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turf_toes
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Re: Ethofumesate for crabgrass prevention?

Post by turf_toes » October 13th, 2022, 8:04 am

Generally not great.

Why not use something more mainstream, like Tenacity.

Even better, if you’re open to fertilizing in the spring (not all of us are), use the Scotts product with the same active ingredient.

Since this is a forum aimed at regular home owners, I tend to use the brand name users will look for, not the active ingredient in the bag.

If you’re the type of person to refer to products by ingredients like, mesotrione or ethofumesate, you’re probably easily able to find online white papers detailing the efficacy of products against such specific weeds.

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philcav7
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Re: Ethofumesate for crabgrass prevention?

Post by philcav7 » October 13th, 2022, 12:36 pm

I am fighting a significant bentgrass infestation and have applied a few tenacity apps this fall. I will seed in the spring just to have some cover and will continue the fight against bentgrass until the fall renovation. I want to save my annual max of tenancy for bentgrass, rather than use it as a pre-m.

I’ve seen all sorts of info on pre& post control of Poa, but haven’t come across any/much for crabgrass. I know it’s not a typical go to for crabgrass, but was wondering if anyone had feedback.

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turf_toes
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Re: Ethofumesate for crabgrass prevention?

Post by turf_toes » October 13th, 2022, 5:02 pm

Yeah. It doesn’t work well as a pre-emergent for crabgrass.

Years of experience tell me that if you are planning a renovation next fall, you shouldn’t play around with the bentgrass now.

If it were me, I’d hit the bent with roundup and live with the dead spots until August. It’s not like the Bent won’t turn brown in the summer anyway. The earlier you kill the Bent, the more time you have to look to see if any survived. I’d definitely not wait any later than end of May to have a total Bent Grass kill. Once your Bent goes dormant, you can forget about trying to kill it.

So, if you plan to kill it, you’ll either need to do it now or in the spring, before the Bent grass goes dormant (you can’t kill dormant grass for a renovation). Roundup, in my opinion, is more effective at killing Bent (but also kills other grasses too. But you’re already planning to kill your lawn, right?)

So step away from the Tenacity and consider roundup instead.

Sure, it will be ugly. But if you are renovating anyway, I’m assuming you want a great result from the renovation.

It’s totally up to you what you decide to use to kill it. But if it were my lawn, I’d use Roundup.

In any event, It seems you actually need a better renovation plan than you have now.

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Re: Ethofumesate for crabgrass prevention?

Post by philcav7 » October 13th, 2022, 10:29 pm

The bent is largely damaged/dead at this point from the tenacity. And yes, it is ugly. I’m ok with the ugly since it’s for the greater good. Photo is after 2nd blanket treatment to find it all. Id say 85% of the bent is dead and has been raked weekly. Spot treatment of roundup is on deck over the next couple of weeks. I’ve found single apps do not sustain a complete kill. This is where tenacity will be reserved for next year and at fall seeding.

My plan for spring seeding is to provide some cover for next season. I have some left over tttf from a few years ago that I will use. The new lawn will be 4th millennium tttf. I have 2 dogs and a kid that use the back yard daily. A summer of muddy paws is less than ideal.

The fall renovation will only be 1/2 of the back yard and will be sectioned off until established. This is to keep the dogs out of newly seeded area. Next spring or fall I will do the other half. It’s not ideal, but the dogs complicate things. The love to run and play. The will damage seedlings.

It’s the best approach that I could come up with: kill & remove bent now during prime time, get something green for next year, continue selective bent control on the green stuff, wipe out and replace half the lawn next fall. Repeat in spring 2024.

Irrigation is going to be installed this spring so watering is something I will no longer need to manage and will help with spring seeding efforts. Zones will be split across 2 sections of backyard.


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turf_toes
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Re: Ethofumesate for crabgrass prevention?

Post by turf_toes » October 14th, 2022, 7:29 am

Why waste resources on a lawn you already plan to kill a few months later?

It’s your choice. But if it were my yard, I’d focus on spot killing the bent with roundup. Apply Dimension in the spring (roughly late March) to keep crabgrass at bay. Live with the dead spots from the spot spray. Then do the renovation in August using Tenacity at that time.

Alternately, throw rye grass down now. It is late. But it germinates quickly. You’re looking for a temporary ground cover. That wouldn’t be my plan. But it’s a far better one than trying to grow a temporary ground cover this spring that you’d just be killing in a few months.

This might allow you to use Dimension still in the Spring. But if I absolutely had to seed a temporary lawn in the spring, I’d not worry about crabgrass. Any crabgrass that emerges is only going to really get big enough for you to notice in June/July - right about the time you’ll be getting ready to kill the lawn anyway.

Yes, you might get some new crabgrass seeds added to your seed bank. But after your permanent lawn is fully established, you can apply dimension or barricade to control those future weeds.

Good luck

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