Evaluation of Herbicides for Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea L.) Control at Two Application Timings

Abstract

Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea L.) is a creeping perennial broadleaf species that is difficult to control in turf. The efficacy of spring herbicide applications has received limited investigation. Further, comparisons between commonly used and effective herbicide treatments are limited. Field experiments were conducted to determine the influence of herbicide selection and fall and spring application timings on the control of ground ivy across three separate environments located across Indiana and Tennessee. Herbicides containing 2,4‐D, fluroxypyr, triclopyr, iodosulfuron, thiencarbazone, and aminocyclopyrachlor or mixtures of these active ingredients had the greatest control of ground ivy (>53%) at both timings. With the exception of metsulfuron and fluroxypyr, most of the herbicides provided consistent ground ivy control when applied in either the fall or the spring. Differences in ground ivy control between herbicides were much greater than differences between spring and fall application timings. This research indicates that proper herbicide selection has a larger influence on ground ivy control than application timing.

Postemergence Weed Control in Warm-season Turfgrass with a Mixture of Pyrimisulfan and Penoxsulam

“…Sequential applications of pyrimisulfan + penoxsulam were highly effective in both years of the study, controlling ground ivy 93% to 100% in 2017 and 89% to 95% in 2018. These findings support reports by Patton et al (2017) that ALS-inhibiting herbicides can be used to control ground ivy effectively. Moreover, the fertilizer carrier used to apply pyrimisulfan + penoxsulam in these studies may have affected ground ivy Herbicides were impregnated on a fertilizer at 0.025% (total active ingredient load = 0.05%).…”

Single Applications of Natural Postemergence Weed Control Options Do Not Provide Effective Ground Ivy Control

“…Weber ex Wiggers) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) control (Patton et al, 2018), also did not provide adequate ground ivy control (40% at 27 and 32 WAT). The poor control from 2,4-D + MCPP + dicamba is not unexpected as past experiments have documented inconsistent and poor ground ivy control results from this mixture (Patton et al, 2017). Past experiments document that herbicide mixtures containing triclopyr or fluroxypyr provide more consistent and acceptable levels of ground ivy control (Kohler et al, 2004;Patton et al, 2017).…”

“…The poor control from 2,4-D + MCPP + dicamba is not unexpected as past experiments have documented inconsistent and poor ground ivy control results from this mixture (Patton et al, 2017). Past experiments document that herbicide mixtures containing triclopyr or fluroxypyr provide more consistent and acceptable levels of ground ivy control (Kohler et al, 2004;Patton et al, 2017). However, fluroxypyr is not a common ingredient in herbicide mixtures sold to homeowners.…”

“…Ideally, a natural weed control option would provide effective control of weed species without being harmful to the desirable turfgrass species. However, this experiment demonstrates a single application of the tested natural weed control products will not provide adequate ground ivy control; and therefore; homeowners and turf practitioners will need to make multiple applications to potentially improve weed control while tolerating turf injury or rely on synthetic chemistry such as triclopyr or fluroxypyr for the control of difficult weeds such as ground ivy (Kohler et al, 2004;Patton et al, 2017). --------1-9 ------------------% --------- P-value < 0.0001 < 0.0001 < 0.0001 < 0.0001 0.0942 0.2267 † Turf injury was visually rated on a 1-9 scale (where 1 = 100% injury, 7 = acceptable turf injury at ≤ 20% injury, and 9 = no injury), and percentage cover of ground ivy was adjusted to percent ground ivy control {[(% nontreated plot -% ground ivy cover)/% nontreated plot] × 100} within each block.…”

“…Ideally, a natural weed control option would provide effective control of weed species without being harmful to the desirable turfgrass species. However, this experiment demonstrates a single application of the tested natural weed control products will not provide adequate ground ivy control; and therefore; homeowners and turf practitioners will need to make multiple applications to potentially improve weed control while tolerating turf injury or rely on synthetic chemistry such as triclopyr or fluroxypyr for the control of difficult weeds such as ground ivy (Kohler et al, 2004; Patton et al, 2017).…”