8a, North Georgia, Bermuda
Guys – what gives? I put down pre-emergent (Dimension) in late September. The weather has been up and down. Today I go out to spray Barricade as part of my routine and there’s already a ton of poa popping up. I’m hopefully this cold front coming through will knock it back, but how can I better control this going forward?
I feel like these unpredictable seasons and warmer fall/winter are to blame and might need to adjust my timing. What are y’all doing? My plan is to use Dimension again in early March.
by wardpiper
3 Comments
Nutsedge?
Preface with I spent most of my career in metro atl. Certainly possible and likely, but can’t make an id of these photos.
Dimension is not that great of a fall pre em. a lot of the difficulty with pre Poa control is getting the timing right. UT came out with an emergence model recently. It’s 55 soil temp for 5 days WITH soil moisture. Check out their turf YouTube page.
In this area the temps are all over the place in fall. And the past few years rainfall is sporadic around the typical germination time…it’s common to see Poa come up in the shaded and wet areas first. This means you might have to go out earlier in those spots. Or tbh, in some cases it may not have worked no matter what you do.
Add to this there is resistance in almost every mode of action herbicide. Probably all of them but certainly the ones commonly used in turf.
Poa is an absolute beast of a plant that there aren’t any great solutions for. Best bet. Lose the dimension or save it for a late spring app. Watch soil temps and monitor rainfall in fall to get timing right. Rotate with simazine and specticle if you can afford it. Keep the prodiamine for spring.
I’d also consider adding a post control at the pre time. Something like certainty, monument, rimsulfuron, etc. blanket app in fall and should plenty left over for any escapes in spring for years to come. This gives you better resistance prevention and catches any of the early germination. Be sure to add sticker with any post Be sure to water in the pre.
We have poa even in late December in CA. It’s been a mild “winter”. I dropped prodiamine on NYE. I probably should have done it a week or two earlier.