Villain Of The Turf

Weedkillers don’t just kill weeds. Some lawns can be harmed too. The weedicide is injurious to Triple-A Bent grass and to Red Top, but Kentucky blue and other grasses, such as are found in the usual lawn grass mixture, are not harmed. Unfortunately, the chemical is not effective against that villain of the turf, crabgrass. It is best to follow directions of the manufacturer—of which there are a number of reliable concerns—in using 2,4-D. In general, it has been found best, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and other scientific institutions, to apply the solution of 2,4-D as a fine mist when the weather is warm—70° F. or higher. One application in mid-June should suffice for the summer. Remember: 2,4-D does not kill weed seeds that are in the soil, or which the wind may blow in. Spray when the sun is shining, and early in the day, so that there will be a long period of sunlight afterwards.

Poison ivy can be killed with 2,4-D, but in the shade it may survive. The best way to apply this weedicide on a small lawn is with one of the 3-gallon knapsack sprayers. On a large lawn or golf course a power sprayer is needed. Remember that a mist is better than a soaking spray, and be careful not to let the spray blow over on useful plants nearby. If used care fully in a perennial border and while the plants are small, weeds may be killed without damaging the flowers, However, Dr. L. W. Kephart of the Agricultural Research Administration warns that if annuals are to he planted in treated ground, injury may result from residues of 2,4-D in the soil. A good deal is yet to be learned about the residual effects of 2,4-D, but apparently there is no danger in using it on lawns.

Dr- Kephart suggests that a good way to use 2,4-D on lawns is mixed dry with fertilizer in early spring the rate of not over three pounds to the acre. A fungicide might be applied at the same time if there is danger from turf diseases. Remember that 2,4-D will also kill the white Dutch clover in your lawn. Since 2,4-D has such a lethal effect on most plants, great care must be used in washing off all traces of it from sprayers and other utensils used in spraying vegetables or other plants. The slightest trace left in a sprayer may have fatal results. For that reason, some experts recommend that a separate spraying apparatus be used for 2,4-D. Undoubtedly this is the safest practice to follow.

Besides this new killing champion, other weed killers are deserving of attention. One of these will kill even crabgrass: sodium chlorate. This can be safely sprayed on lawns if carefully applied, but government specialists caution against its indiscriminate use because this chemical, while perfectly harmless in its original container, becomes violently inflammable when mixed with organic matter, including dead grass, weeds or cotton clothing.

By: davidbunch

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