[Success]

i have really gotten a good control of sedge in my lawn (st aug/cent). I saw yesterday LCN recommended putting down some pennant magnum as a pre-e for nutsedge. I didnt know this existed. I put down prodiamine in oct and feb and dont have a single crabgrass in my lawn. Hows everyone feel about pennant magnum for sedge suppression? any experience out there?

 

[Movingshrub]

No experience. Have you done the cost per app comparison? I'd think you would be be better off with prodiamine and post em for sedges but haven't done the math myself.

 

[Ecks from Tex]

I use it every April along with Prodiamine and like it. You have to vary pre-emergents if you want to get in 3-4 apps per year because you can easily reach annual maximums with two applications. Prodiamine and Pennant before summer is a great combo

 

[Movingshrub]

I use it every April along with Prodiamine and like it. You have to vary pre-emergents if you want to get in 3-4 apps per year because you can easily reach annual maximums with two applications. Prodiamine and Pennant before summer is a great combo

Your annual max remark you my attention. You can get 12 months of coverage with prodiamine, depending on how much you apply at once, just by taking the annual max and splitting it along intended quantity of applications. Why would you run into a limit otherwise? Is there a benefit to applying more than 2.30lb per year per acre, or is it an issue of the type of turfgrass?

 

[Ecks from Tex]

I use it every April along with Prodiamine and like it. You have to vary pre-emergents if you want to get in 3-4 apps per year because you can easily reach annual maximums with two applications. Prodiamine and Pennant before summer is a great combo

Your annual max remark you my attention. You can get 12 months of coverage with prodiamine, depending on how much you apply at once, just by taking the annual max and splitting it along intended quantity of applications. Why would you run into a limit otherwise? Is there a benefit to applying more than 2.30lb per year per acre, or is it an issue of the type of turfgrass?

I use preemergent aggressively. My schedule is a function of my grass and my zone along the gulf coast.

Prodiamine is an elite crabgrass control. It actually only provides "up to" 8 months of coverage. That's fine, but for me crabgrass is already germinating in January and my lawn isnt going dormant until after Dec 1. So even if apply the max, I'm not getting 12 months of crabgrass control with one product.

Further, there are diminishing returns with every preemergent. It's a function of rate and time, and ends up looking like a bell curve. So while it may provide up to 8 months of protection at the max rate, an unusual,y hot and wet summer could very easily shorten that to 6 months, with the last two only being 70% effective. So what I do is overlap 4 preemergent applications during the key germination periods. I split Prodiamine in feb and November to equal the max annual rate. I apply Dithiopyr in the early summer to provide additional protection during times when a post-emergent app would likely damage my lawn (yes, even Celsius; y'all don't know the perils of St Augustine).

I apply pennant because Prodiamine is actually not that great of a preemergent for sedges and dollar. To the extent you can control sedge germination, pennant is the elite pre em herbicide. So I apply that in April when sedge is likely to germinate. It just gives me that extra jump in protection and because the active ingredients are different it isn't going to interfere with anything.

I don't think you can hurt your lawn applying a little more than 2.3 lb/acre but I sure as heck don't recommmend it. Just as easy to find a different product and double up on protection, so you are never in a period where the protection is diminishing. It is always at its strongest, which is my goal because I want to have a program where zero post emergent herbicides are necessary.

 

[Movingshrub]

@Success

There's a video from TheGrassFactor where he talks about the pre-emergent effective of Dismiss for sedge control, when applied as a broadcast app.

You're clearly welcome to take whichever approach you'd like. I personally don't have the budget to do blanket apps of prodiamine and pennant magnum and would much rather spot treat sedge/kyllinga.

I do two pre-em apps. For the spring, I do prodiamine and simazine. In the fall, prodiamine, simazine, and monument for poa annua control. The remainder of the year, I spot treat weeds with a tank mix of Celsius and Certainty, and then handbrush anything else I can't kill with glyphosate or pull it by hand. From a time management angle, I'm considering doing tank mixes of Celsius along with PGR, just so I only have to spray once. If you're doing any kind of broadcast applications, you might also consider using Dismiss instead of Pennant Magnum. Hope you find an approach that works for you. Good luck!

@Ecks from Tex with your unique growing situations, I see the value in your approach.

 

[Ecks from Tex]

@Ecks from Tex with your unique growing situations, I see the value in your approach.

It's awesome because I can literally grow anything here, but holy s#it are there some weeds man! I'm happy with the four applications so far, and aside from the two weeds that I cannot control with pre-emergent (Virginia Buttonweed and Torpedo Grass), the weeds are completely in check in my lawn after year two of my program. I really think Year 3 is going to be some of the healthiest grass i've ever grown.

You mentioned Pennant and your budget. One thing to consider, however, is that Dithiopyr is usually cheaper than Prodiamine and could really boost your weed prevention program because you could apply Prodiamine earlier than normal in the spring and later than normal in the fall, and apply Dithiopry late spring for a summer boost.

 

[TSGarp007]

@Ecks from Tex If you have it all planned out, do you mind sharing your actual applications (rate per 1K sq ft, I know we may have different spray volumes)? So far all I've been using is Prodiamine in my SA grass. Sedge is a real problem. Weeds are an issue for my backyard, and will continue to be until I can correct my irrigation issues. Better pre-em coverage could help. Also, I feel your pain on the turf damage. And also, curious, what do you use for sedge control post emergence? Right now Certainty for me, which leads to my next question...

@Movingshrub (and/others), what is your Certainty/Celsius mixture rate? Certainty gives values per 2 gal per 1K sq ft, Celsius I think per 1 gal per 1K sq ft. So to tank mix it seems like you would have to either apply higher doses of Celsius with a lighter application, or lower concentration of Celsius with a heavier application. Maybe Certainty has higher app rate b/c it wants the chemical into the soil?

 

[CenlaLowell]

Man that's some high dollar stuff. I'm using prodiamine and dithiopyr this fall.

 

[Success]

Man that's some high dollar stuff. I'm using prodiamine and dithiopyr this fall.

It's not bad if you breakdown cost per app.