Nutsedge / Mace sedge

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Anybody have experience with this. In 2020, I mowed a brushied up trail, sprayed a week or two later, then a week or two after than, harrowed an planted. Kept it mowed and sprayed clethodim in 2021. Been frost seeding clover in there. last year, this year, and dragged in some clover after the clethodim spray.

I have 2 new plots from 2021 I spring planted oats, turnips, and clover in the spring of 2021 that have nut sedge in it too. I sprayed clethodim in there too.

The brushy trail I want to redo this year. Can do a spring or fall planting. Building a wood spiked roller type seeder, might not be done till mid may though. Can disc / harrow. Soil is sandy, but lots of organic material. Ph is low 6's. got a spring harrow / disc cultivator / ATV mounted sprayer / drop and boradcast spreader / spot sprayer.

Debated just going back in a few weeks, spray the 1st day, then the 2nd day scratching it up and putting rye and some red clover down. Choke em out.

Plan B was to mow it once or twice, maybe spray a sedge specific spray, then go back and spray gly, then plant a few weeks later.

Halosulfuron or sulfentrazone came up as specific ones.

Will leave a spot alone in a place or two so I can see what the seed head looks like to ID. Stuff is everywhere up there though.

 

[SD51555]

Do you get standing water out there for a few days per year, like enough to kill a crop not tolerant to standing water?

 

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Im in zone 3A, you can get a long time standing layer of mud above the frost line in the spring. Not standing water, but it soaked. Become a muddied rut mess very easily. small puddles stand a long time in little low spots. Clover and rye over winter here though and survive the next season.

 

[SD51555]

If the rye survives, it can't be too wet then. The iron and chem path will only make that sedge do better. Even if you get a lid on it, it'll come back. It's a plant that thrives on spraying and tillage, because spraying and tillage kills everything else that would outgrow the sedge. Sedge is one of few that doesn't rely on beneficial fungi in the soil. So when you knock out all the beneficial fungi, the only crop left to thrive is the sedge. I'd work it up again and get a stiff rate of barley and red clover going in there. Then find a way to keep it alive from here forward. Barley does very well inhibiting sedge, and is a great host for beneficial fungi.

 

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If the rye survives, it can't be too wet then. The iron and chem path will only make that sedge do better. Even if you get a lid on it, it'll come back. It's a plant that thrives on spraying and tillage, because spraying and tillage kills everything else that would outgrow the sedge. Sedge is one of few that doesn't rely on beneficial fungi in the soil. So when you knock out all the beneficial fungi, the only crop left to thrive is the sedge. I'd work it up again and get a stiff rate of barley and red clover going in there. Then find a way to keep it alive from here forward. Barley does very well inhibiting sedge, and is a great host for beneficial fungi.

1st time hearing Barley mentioned in a food plot environment. I know that stuff does wonders for water health from keeping koi for years.

When's a good time to plant barley? This place gets harsh winters. -10 to -15 deg F is very common night temp in january.

Any mowing advice to keep sedge in check? I plant in a snowmobile trail that gets occasional ATV traffic. I leave the middle tire path undisturbed atleast by tillage. Spray, seed, and fert/lime gets on there though.

 

[SD51555]

1st time hearing Barley mentioned in a food plot environment. I know that stuff does wonders for water health from keeping koi for years.

When's a good time to plant barley? This place gets harsh winters. -10 to -15 deg F is very common night temp in january.

Any mowing advice to keep sedge in check? I plant in a snowmobile trail that gets occasional ATV traffic. I leave the middle tire path undisturbed atleast by tillage. Spray, seed, and fert/lime gets on there though.

Spring plant barley this year, and flip to stout stand of winter rye or willow creek wheat in the fall.

You can plant barley as soon as you can see soil that ain't flooded. If your daily lows are staying above 20 degrees, it's go time. Waiting only takes potential off the back end of the crop. If you're early, that seed will safely snooze until the perfect conditions arrive to germinate, provided you don't have turkeys ready to eat it all.

I'm as far north as anyone. That'll work where you're at.

 

[SD51555]

I can't much help you on that trail, other than to suggest white clover and rye. That's about the best bet to tolerate those conditions that I can think of.

 

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I can't much help you on that trail, other than to suggest white clover and rye. That's about the best bet to tolerate those conditions that I can think of.

I got 600 acres, but we lease from a timber management company. I am limited what I can do there. It is frequentrly logged in lanes here n there, so there is always different stages of growth.

We can maintain trails through the lease. There are several log landings in various states of regeneration. There is a 1/2 mile snowmobile trail that was put in about 8 years ago. 20-45ft wide.

Great grouse and rabbit hunting. Deer hunting is OK. Too many neighboring clubs harvesting deer. No huge Adirondack trophies in there, but a decent 8 or ocaasional 10 comes out.

 

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I can't much help you on that trail, other than to suggest white clover and rye. That's about the best bet to tolerate those conditions that I can think of.

I think thats going to be my long term strategy there. Grains n clover. I toy around with the idea of spring planting some hairy vetch and see if it lives.

I have section I split into grades. Wider areas get better treatment. However, narrow less well lit areas still get something decent every 3 years. The narrow run is due next year year. 1st intentions was to get the trail reclaimed. The town doesn't mow the trail and was getting brushy and narrow.

 

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I was thinking about the work I did in 2020. I sprayed a cramped narrow trail overgrown with young trees, brush, and tall weeds. Sprayed gly. Mowed it after that, tilled and planted. So, I released sedge seed from the soil and may of never got the plants living under the tall stuff well.

Will a spray of gly followed by a planting of rye n clover help a bunch. Wait until late summer for the planting and not till up the ground.

Thinking of maybe giving Imazapyr a try. They say growth stops for 1 to 5 months. I have sandy well drained soil with good drainage. I put about 10 bag of pelletized lime in 2020 and 2 or 3 in 2021. pH was 5.8 before liming. Not sure about temps with imazapyr, but gly would need to wait until mid may for decent temps for the year. Could I spray, then mow in a day or two?