810-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 13,1986 ■A, T ' > Johnsongrass, regarded as one of the world's 10 worst weeds, thrives in much of the world and is a major nuisance to farmers in the southeastern United States. The galloping grass can soar as high as 10 feet, choking out crops. It multiplies through both seeds and underground stems called rhizomes. BLACK iBUOW BLUE BROWN AMERICAN BITTERN, WS URUAMLY LOOKIH6 B/po seldom ventures outside DFHisnoMeiHm marshes. mweumHE reeds and cattails and "FREEZES "OUHEHIHPAK 6ER. INFU6HTITS BLACK U//N6 TiPS DISTINGUISH nFROM YOUNG NiSHT RE ROBS. TUB BtTTEPNs SON6/S UNIQUE.IN SOUND. 1 \ ■Aav I i rv f Pl/JK GREEN LT BROWN LT. BLUE LI GREEN s 6 \ 8 V . Farmers Wage War On Johnsongrass LIBERTYTOWN, Md. - Toweling herbicide off their faces and exposed arms, the two sweaty men, standing in a field of john songrass taller than their heads, might wishfully ponder this statement from a 1980 agricultural pamphlet: "Old-timers say the best way to get rid of johnsongrass is to have hungry billy goats dare it to come up.” No such luck for Walter Haydel and Glenn Pearl, who have spent an arduous morning spraying a smelly chemical solution on the tenacious plant described by scientists as one of the world’s 10 worst weeds. Haydel, a 33-year-old agronomist, is a weed-control specialist with the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Pearl, a retired dairy farmer, supervises the Frederick County john songrass program. Grass Wars Singly and together, they and their tank trucks wage continual summertime warfare on john songrass, a scourge of farmers in many parts of the world and in much of the United States, par ticularly the Southeast. Maryland has a more aggressive anti-johnsongrass program than any other state. Under a 1969 law, state residents are required to keep it under control. Failure to comply can mean a stiff fine or a jail sentence. So far, nobody’s gone to jail. Pressure from authorities usually produces the desired result. “The last thing I want to do is take a farmer into court,” says Jesse Crook, supervisor of the state’s weed-control operation. “It’s a never-ending problem.” The round-stemmed, broad leafed grass soars as high as 10 feet. It reproduces both from seeds and from wildly proliferating " -SJ^ 0 rootlike underground stems called rhizomes. Seeds may lie dormant for years before sprouting. Once it has flowered, a single johnsongrass plant may produce 200 to 300 feet of rhizomes in a month. So says plant physiologist Chester G. McWhorter, who may know more about johnsongrass than anybody else in the country. McWhorter is director of the U.S. Agricultural Research Service’s Southern Weed Science Laboratory at Stoneville, Miss. He has written about most aspects of the weed, including its long and dubious history. Its origins are murky, but Mc- Whorter thinks it was known in the Middle East 200 to 300 years ago. Johnsongrass probably made its way to this country early in the 19th century, but its true identity was surrounded by confusion. It had at least eight Latin names and more than 40 common names, including guinea grass, Samoa grass, Cuba grass, Egyptian grass, Meanie grass, Arabian millet, and bankruptcy grass. Colonel Johnson’s Folly The name that has stuck, robbed of the dignity of capitalization, is attributed to Col. William Johnson, owner of a plantation at Marion Junction, near Selma, Ala. He presumably brought it to Alabama as cattle fodder before the Civil War. Both Union and Confederate troops, aided by the digestive tracts of their horses, helped spread johnsongrass throughout the southeastern United States during the war. By the 1870 s it was recognized as a major agricultural problem; by the end of the century it had spread to most parts of the country. It even leaps oceans. In the late 1800 s, it was brought to Samoa reportedly by Robert Louis 9 y Stevenson. “Its pernicious nature led to the first federal appropriation specifically for weed control in 1900,” McWhorter writes. Two years later, the first report on johnsongrass control appeared. Agronomists are still looking for ways to get rid of the pervasive pest. McWhorter and other scientists see hope for improved control as a result of continuing research, particularly with the introduction of what McWhorter calls “some beautiful new herbicides” that are highly selective for broadleaf crops. In Maryland, Glenn Pearl and Walter Haydel brace themselves against the 300-gallon tank mounted on the bed of Pearl’s four wheel-drive pickup. As Pearl’s wife, Bessie, maneuvers between rows of com, they shoot herbicide at patches of johnsongrass that rise above 25 acres of drought stunted corn. Next to the cornfield are seven uncultivated acres of john songrass, thistles, poison ivy, and brambles. Haydel sprays them from his truck with a 38-foot boom. Chemicals Costly, Risky Such spraying isn’t cheap. This morning’s work will cost the landowner about $3OO, Pearl estimates. The sprayers have been careful to keep the herbicide off the corn whenever possible, because the chemicals kill whatever plants they touch. Short of hungry billy goats, agricultural researchers have experimented with every imaginable means of controlling the resilient weed. Geese have been used to feed on it. Seasonal flooding has prevented ger mination in some southern states. Before butane and propane became too expensive, grass along (Turn to Page B 12) A \ N\ l 9-/B-B6
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