WEED MANAGEMENT IN TROPICAL TURFGRASS AREAS: A REVIEW

Cultural practices promoting vigorous, environmentally friendly dense turf are discussed. These are the most important and least recognized means of preventing weed establishment and encroachment which includes appropriate propagation material selection, sanitation and cultivation, adjustment of planting time, manual weed control (hand pulling, hoeing and rouging), turfgrass selection to better compete with weed populations, applying physiological stresses, fertilizer management, moisture management, mowing, and irrigation with salt water. Cultural management of weed is important because it reduces dependence on synthetic pesticides. A healthy turfgrass stand has been reported to be the best defense against weed colonization, and can be accomplished by proper mowing, watering, and fertilization. Mowing height is the clearest and best-documented cultural factor and a lower mowing height is always associated with more weeds in the turfgrass. Split application of fertilizer at intervals throughout the growing period is recommended for warm season turfgrasses. The application of fertilizer during dormant periods or periods of low growth may encourage weed growth. Hand pulling and hoeing effectively control annual and biennial seedling weeds for small areas. Irrigation by saltwater has been one method used recently to effectively control grassy broadleaved and sedge weeds in salt-tolerant turfgrass species. Cultural weed management practices in turf might provide a first defense: however, relying only on cultural control measures may not be a good idea. An integrated approach of combining cultural practices and chemicals can complement each other and give flexibility to decision making. Research is needed on optimizing the choices of herbicide and/or cultural practices as part of an integrated management system for turfgrass.