QUACK GRASS—SLENDER WHEAT GRASS 15 



systems have been somewhat exhausted by the growth of plants. The 

 seed should not be allowed to mature, however, or, if mature, the 

 grass should be cut and burned. 



Where a field is badly infested, it should be plowed deeply from 

 five to eight or more inches, as soon as the hay or grain crop is removed, 

 preferably by August 1 to 15. The plowing must be well done 

 and all portions of the plants turned completely under. A jointer 

 on the plow will aid in turning the grass under perfectly. The plow 

 should be followed within a very few days by a disc harrow with 

 discs set nearly straight to avoid inverting the sod. The purpose 

 is to fill the spaces between the furrow slices, thus stopping the free 

 circulation of air. Following the first discing the land should be 

 double disced frequently enough to prevent the appearance above 

 the surface of any quack grass leaves. This will be twice a week in 

 warm, moist seasons and once a week when the weather is dryer. 

 The discing should be continued until growth ceases, usually from 

 six to eight weeks. To make sure of eradication it is well to disc 

 occasionally until freezing weather in the fall. 



The following spring cultivation should begin early and be con- 

 tinued at intervals of a week or ten days until from May 15 to 

 25, when the field may be planted thickly to ensilage- or fodder- 

 corn. Thorough cultivation of the corn, with hand hoeing where 

 occasional plants appear in the rows, should complete the eradica- 

 tion, but extreme watchfulness is required to get all of the plants. 



The intensive cultivation is expensive and is called for at times 

 when farm labor is extremely busy, but there seems to be no other 

 way to eradicate the weed completely. The cost of cultivation is in 

 many cases returned in the increased yield of the crops following. 



Short crop rotations are useful in keeping quack grass under 

 control, and, when arranged so as to provide an opportunity to attack 

 the quack grass at seasonable times, they will permit eradication 

 of the weed without lcsing the use of the land. A good two-year 

 rotation for this purpose uses ensilage-corn after fall rye. Plow the 

 land after removal of rye, disc, and prepare for ensilage-corn the 

 next year. Plow the land after harvesting the corn and sow to 

 rye immediately. The following three-year rotation may be used: 

 (1) Fall rye or barley seeded to clover; (2) clover hay, first crop; 

 plow between July 15 and August 1, and disc as above; (3) ensilage- 

 corn. A fall rye, corn, barley, and clover rotation may be managed 

 so as to eradicate the quack grass between the first and second years. 



Slender Wheat Grass (Agropyron tenerum Vasey) 



Other common names. — Bunch grass, western wheat grass, or 

 western rye grass. 



