Herbicide Inputs and Mowing Affect Vaseygrass (Paspalum urvillei) Control

Vaseygrass is an invasive, perennial C4-grass commonly found on roadsides in areas with poorly drained soils. Due to its upright growth habit and seedhead production, vaseygrass can impair motorist sightlines and subsequently, require increased management inputs to maintain vegetation at an acceptable height. Two field experiments were conducted from 2012 to 2015 on North Carolina roadsides to evaluate the effect of mowing and mowing timing with respect to applications of various herbicides on vaseygrass control. Both experiments evaluated clethodim (280 g ai ha−1), foramsulfuron+halosulfuron+thiencarbazone-methyl (44+69+22 g ai ha−1), imazapic (140 g ai ha−1), metsulfuron+nicosulfuron (16+59 g ai ha−1), and sulfosulfuron (105 g ai ha−1) with a nonionic surfactant at 0.25% v/v. Experiment one focused on the effect of mowing (routinely mowed or nonmowed) and herbicide application timing (fall-only, fall-plus-spring, or spring-only), while experiment two focused on pre-herbicide application mowing intervals (6, 4, 3, 2, 1, or 0 wk before treatment [WBT]). From experiment one, routine mowing reduced vaseygrass cover in nontreated plots 55% at 52 wk after fall treatment (WAFT), suggesting this cultural practice should be employed where possible. Additionally, routine mowing and herbicide application season affected herbicide efficacy. Treatments providing >70% vaseygrass cover reduction at 52 WAFT included routinely mowed fall-only clethodim and fall-plus-spring imazapic, and fall-plus-spring metsulfuron+nicosulfuron across mowing regimens. Within clethodim, mowing vaseygrass 2 or 1 WBT resulted in the lowest cover at 40 (1 to 2%) and 52 (4 to 6%) wk after treatment (WAT) compared to other intervals, which aligns with current label vegetation height at treatment recommendation. Vaseygrass persisted across all treatments evaluated through 52 WAT, suggesting eradication of this species will require inputs over multiple growing seasons. Nomenclature: Clethodim; foramsulfuron; halosulfuron; imazapic; metsulfuron; nicosulfuron; sulfosulfuron; thiencarbazone; vaseygrass, Paspalum urvillei Steud. Paspalum urvillei es una gramínea C4 perenne invasiva que se encuentra comúnmente a las orillas de caminos y en áreas con suelos con poco drenaje. Debido a su hábito de crecimiento vertical y producción de espigas, P. urvillei puede limitar la visibilidad de vehículos y subsecuentemente incrementar los insumos de manejo para mantener la vegetación a una altura aceptable. Se