Has anybody had any real world success in eradicating Cogongrass? Had some pines thinned last Spring and looks like Cogongrass came in on the logging equipment or the dozier that put in the firebreaks early this Spring. I have about a 30 x 30 area that it is infected. State of Alabama offers little resources other than information. I have asked the Alabama Forestry Commission and NRCS for assistance. I've spent about 10 hours researching and most sites/literature says that true eradication is not possible. Looks like I will start with an RU/Arsenal combo with multiple applications. Not sure of other steps.

The Alabama Forestry Commission has a pretty good field guide:

http://www.forestry.alabama.gov/Pages/Fire/Invasive_Species.aspx

http://www.forestry.alabama.gov/Pages/Informational/Images/Cogongrass_Field_Guide.pdf

Hoping somebody can tell me something I've missed...

Eradicated a bunch of it. There’s 0 reason to add gly to the arsenal. All you’re doing is shutting the plant down and preventing up take of arsenal. Use 1.08-1.25 oz of Arsenal per gallon of water in a hand spray application. A second treatment may be needed to following year if you did not get an even coverage. If it is under hardwood or Longleaf use straight gly at 4 oz per gallon of water and treat every time it’s greens up.

I've got a backyard full of it. Been testing different methods. All I have figured out is that it takes years to totally eradicate a patch of it. Spraying then tilling really hasn't helped. Breaking up the rizome mats only makes it harder to get rid of. Just spray what you can see, then spray out 5' past the jap grass you can see. I've noticed Wilcox county of all places has been spraying a lot of it. Baldwin County seems to welcome it. Try to spray it before the seed heads appear.

Just found a couple of spots of it in a river bottom filed of ours, will start with roundup soon.

We have had plenty of success treating with straight glyphosate. Arsenal is expensive and you also can get a lot of damage to non target hardwoods around your treatment area. We usually like to treat in early spring before it seeds out and at least one follow up treatment later in the summer to whatever in the patch greens up. If you treat twice per year you can usually get a spot under control in two years with glyphosate. We've tried a couple of tank mixes and have went to straight glyphosate now.

Do y'all increase the concentration or just standard 1oz. / gallon?

I've used a mix of Crossbow and 2,4-D. It has knocked it down to dirt first year I sprayed, it tried shooting up small sprouts about a year later so I hit it again. That seemed to have killed it for good. It is not an overnight process for sure though.

??? On Cogongrass ? Those are broadleaf herbicides.

I sprayed sum today with crossbow remedy and roundup mix I'll be surprised if it lives

Crossbow and Remedy are for broadleaf and woody control. You've spent a lot of extra money because the only control out of that mix for grass would be the roundup. Crossbow and remedy are used when trying to preserve grasses.

Well I got miles of fence rows to spray and there is a mix of hedge and other stuff

I'm not sure if you can get rid of it. I've been spraying 4-5 oz of 41% gly per gallon of water and just when you think you have a handle on it you start seeing the sprouts coming out. One thing for sure, in the winter if you are in an area to be burned remember that cogon it is about like gas burning, really hot, so stay back from the crap.

Hit it with Arsenal and be done. Quit playing with it and kill it. I fully understand if it’s around hardwood or small LL but come on now.

Have Pecan trees on one side and mature red oaks on the other side of the site. As much as I want to save them, I want the Cogongrass gone more. Original hit will be with RU/Arsenal and hope for the best. Arsenal has a decent packet of info about using it for Cogongrass. No where have I read that you can get rid of it. Also read that it is best to spray in a radius of 5-9 feet from the perimeter of the patch. Depending on age of the stand, it sends out root runners underground in all directions. Goal with repeated applications of chemical is to reduce the reserves the plant has by stunting it, letting it re-sprout, stunting, letting it re-sprout for as long as it takes and hope that it eventually DIES before it can spread.

Gonna see what the forester and ACA, NRCS and others say on the chem mix.

Sanderson - did you completely kill the stand using Arsenal only? No repeat flare ups?

*** I’ve never sprayed a sprig of cogon grass however it was all over a lease I have.

The owner sprays it with arsenal and discs the area a month or 2 later. I’ve never seen it come back where he does this 2-3 times. It came in with a logging crew thinning the timber 4-5 years ago

Sure did. If you don’t get good even coverage you can have a few sprigs the next year. A few sprigs leftover isn’t a big deal at all. Hell come down and spend the day and i can show you patch after patch that I’ve killed completely.

Again why are you putting RU in the mix?

Might be a dumb question, but won't be the first one I've asked today...

Why would covering it with black plastic for a long while not kill it, especially if it gets sunlight on it?

I know that isn't practical in many applications, but seems like a 30x30 sized spot a couple of black tarps would knock it down.

Tried that Fur. I hate spraying anything. It will come up through any plastic. The new shoots are sharper than a broadhead.

I have used black plastic and it works some, but the sun kills the plastic in a few months. I have kept it out of food plots by plowing every year with a disc plow. My buddy in North Escambia Fl. has been using RU at 1 gal. per acre and had some success. We found it on his farm in the mid 70s, 1 patch about 10 feet across. Had no idea what it was. Cows wouldn't eat it. Now it is everywhere. This stuff is the devil.