This past Saturday we were at the Woodlands Ace Hardware store and you wouldn’t believe the amount of weeds everyone brought in ziplock bags for me to look at.  And nutsedges/nutgrasses had to be the dominant entry.  What nutsedges/nutgrasses are, are common turfgrass weeds that favor warm climates and poorly drained or over irrigated areas. Golf courses often provide ideal environments for several types of sedges. Some of the more common sedges on golf courses include purple nutsedge, yellow nutsedge, globe sedge, rice flat sedge, annual sedge and Kyllinga species.

(PRONOUNCED: Kuh-LING-uh)

Most of us, here in Southeast Texas are fairly certain about Nutsedge, but I get lots of calls and emails about a sedge that has the burrs on top, and that is what is affectionately known as Kyllinga. Appropriately, four of the letters in KYILLINGA are KILL. And that's exactly what should be done to it.

Kyllinga species are becoming more prevalent on golf courses. Forty-five Kyllinga species exist in the world but only five are currently found in the continental U.S. with an additional one occurring in Hawaii . Most are rather difficult to detect in turfgrass because their growth closely resembles that of turf. Kyllinga leaves, however, are glossier than turfgrass and are detected easier in the morning as dew falls off their leaves but remains on the turf. Also, Kyllinga has a distinctive "minty sweet" scent when their leaves are mowed or crushed.

Kyllinga Identification

Green kyllinga (Kyllinga brevifolia) is the most commonly known turf weed of all Kyllinga species. Green kyllinga has a rhizomatous/stoloniferous growth. Stolons (runners) intertwine within turf to produce thick mats. Repeated herbicide (Image, Basagran, MSMA, Manage) applications are generally required to remove green kyllinga because herbicides only contact the outer surface. I have personally had great success with Manage. Mats generally begin small, however, may increase in size if unnoticed and can literally choke out the surrounding turfgrass.

Green kyllinga also produces viable seed throughout the growing season. Its seedheads are about the size of a garden pea when un-mowed and have a light green color. Seeds initiate germination in spring and continue throughout the summer.
But when you have, it you want to kill it right?  That’s where the post emergent controls specifically designed for nutrgass/kyllinga come in to play.  There are three readily available ones on the market

Sedgehammer by Gowan
Nutgrass ‘Nihilator by Monterey
Image by Lily Miller

I recommend Sedgehammer the most because it can be used at any time of the year.  Nutgrass ‘Nihilator works, but isn’t as readily available and Image is not safe to use in warmer months, because it can tend to damage the St. Augustine, when temperatures are 90 and above. 

The key to success in any nutgrass control is to use a surfactant.  If you aren’t familiar with what we’ve written about surfactants, please read this tip sheet.  http://www.randylemmon.com/lawns/gardenline-surfactants.html

There is an “organic way” to treat for nutgrass, but it’s very hit-and-miss.  I’ve heard just as many “it didn’t work” stories as well as success stories with Molasses as a nutgrass control.  Usually you mix ½ a cup of agricultural molasses with one gallon of water.  Here too, I would add a bit of surfactant to the mix.  One of the side-bar issues, in the lawn when using molasses is that while you may still see the nutgrass blades, the molasses really does work on the “nut part” of the weed.

Pre-emergent controls for grassy weeds, such as Betasan, Barricade and Pendimethlin and Dimension are very important for long-term control of sedges and especially Kyllinga. See our lawn fertilizations schedule Click Here for those times.