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MAIDENCANE 



BOTANICAL 



Of the 170 Panicum species listed in the United States, maiden- 

 cane, P. hemitomon, is the most serious pest plant in waterfowl 

 habitat. In this country, it is confined almost entirely to fresh- 

 water marshes of the South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. In Louisi- 

 ana, where the plant is known as paille fine or canouche, it con- 

 stitutes a large proportion of the sod in floating marshes. 



Maidencane grows on moist soil or in shallow water. Many 

 aerial stems are sterile, but limited seed production is offset by 

 rapid growth of rootstocks. 



IMPORTANCE 



The plant has some value to muskrats for housebuilding and 

 food and is eaten by nutria, but much more significant is the fact 

 that it is a hard-to-control competitor of duck-food plants in the 

 South. 



CONTROL 



Because of its rapid spread by rootstocks, control of maiden- 

 cane needs to be complete or practically so. It is more difficult to 

 destroy when growing in water than on drained land. 



At present, the most promising prospect for effective control 

 of maidencane has come from recent preliminary tests with 

 dalapon on Federal refuges in the Southeast. At 20 pounds acid 

 equivalent per acre, in early treatments (late March or April) at 

 the Savannah (Ga.) and Loxahatchie (Fla.) Refuges, it has given 

 complete or nearly complete kills. Older chemicals such as 2,4-D, 

 TCA, and Ammate have proved impractical because of large 

 amounts required, and 1 to 3 tons of soil sterilants such as Bor- 

 ascu or Polybor-chlorate are needed for extermination in de- 

 watered units. On drained sites, maidencane can be eliminated 

 largely or entirely in the course of a couple of years by a series 

 of diskings or by diskings combined with herbicide treatments. 



