Author: Theodore Wiseman

Be Cautious if you plan to Roundup your lawn.

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There are currently two products on the market that you will need to pay close attention to if you plan to make a herbicide treatment to your lawn.  The confusion is that Roundup is a product that has been on the market since the early 1970’s and contains glyphosate as the active ingredient.  Roundup is a non-selective herbicide that kills any green plant to which it is applied.  With a lawn application this statement would be accurate, but we do have some weeds in cereal grain fields that are resistant to glyphosate.  There many generic products which contain glyphosate and you need to check the label for the amount of active ingredient when comparing products and prices.

 

Roundup for Lawns is a totally different product which does not contain glyphosate.  To make it even more confusing there is a northern and a southern version of this product for different grass options.  The northern version of Roundup for Lawns contains MCPA, quinclorac, dicamba and sulfentrazone.  These active ingredients can be found in many lawn herbicides in different combinations for various weed control options.  MCPA, 2,4-D and dicamba are products used to control broad leaf weeds such as dandelion, ground ivy or mallow.  Quinclorac is often added to provide post-emergent control of crabgrass.  Sulfentrazone is a product that provides control of sedges such as yellow nut sedge as well as some broadleaf weeds.  All of the active ingredients previously mentioned will not kill your lawn grasses.

 

Selecting the wrong Roundup will result in very different outcomes.  Roundup will leave you with a brown dead lawn, where Roundup for Lawns will control selective weeds and not harm your grass.  However both of these products can be harmful to many of your landscape plants if applied to them.  So it is critical to know what active ingredients are in the product, not the product name itself.  As always READ THE LABEL!  The label is the law and must be followed when using any herbicide due to the active ingredient toxicity levels, application rates, personnel protective equipment, and re-entry intervals.

Damaged Wheat

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The less than ideal growing conditions this year has created many issues for grain production especially wheat.  The majority of the wheat in our area has been harvested and producers are experiencing large price docks and discounts at the elevator.  An option is to store and feed the damaged wheat.  Much of the wheat crop harvested has reported to have disease issues, low test weights, sprouts and mycotoxins or molds.  In general mycotoxins have the greatest potential for affecting animal performance as a feed source.  The grain needs to be dried to at least 18 percent moisture to stop mycotoxin or mold growth, however drying to 13 percent moisture is recommended for long term storage.

Before feeding any infected wheat, producers should have the grain tested.  There are several types of mycotoxins each having varied toxic levels and effects on livestock.  The following link lists several laboratories capable of analyzing mycotoxins: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/ohiofieldcropdisease/t01_pageview2/Mycotoxin_Sampling_Laboratories_.htm.  Once you have the test results you can determine your options for feeding damaged wheat.  Blending with clean grains is one option, but this should only be done immediately prior to feeding.  Contaminated grains can infect the entire batch if left in storage for prolonged periods of time.  Toxic binding agents can also be used and are recommended with grains containing elevated levels of mycotoxins.  Ruminants can handle higher levels of toxins than pigs or poultry.  Recommended levels for each species can be found: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/ohiofieldcropdisease/t01_pageview2/Detrimental_Feed_Concentrations.htm.

Yellow Poplar Weevil

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Yellow Poplar Weevil

 

Recently I’ve noticed in Southeastern Ohio damaged leaves on Yellow Poplar, Sassafras and Magnolia trees.  This has also generated several calls to our Extension Offices.  The cause of this damage is the yellow poplar weevil.  These are tiny insects only about 2/16” long and are sometimes thought to be ticks at first glance.  Older trees will normally sustain the attack of these pests, but if you have newly planted trees in your landscape you may want to apply an insecticidal treatment.  The following links have additional information and control strategies:  http://entomology.osu.edu/bugdoc/Shetlar/factsheet/ornamental/FSyellowpopweevil.htm, http://bygl.osu.edu/content/yellow-poplar-weevil-2.