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WEED CONTROL 
The eradication of weeds by digging, spraying or other means is of little permanent 
value unless these operations are part of a planned turf maintenance program. A 
healthy thick turf will crowd out many weeds and prevent others from securing a 
foothold. In order to have such a turf the requirements are: timely applications of 
fertilizer, sufficient water during the summer and proper mowing to benefit the 
grass plants. 
Weeds of turf and lawn may be classified into three types: 
The low-growing, creeping, or trailing forms, such as chickweed, speedwell, 
ground ivy, heal-all and pennywort; 
The rosette-forming weeds, such as dandelion and the narrow and broad-leaf 
plantains; and 
The grassy weeds, such as crabgrass, foxtail, and goosegrass. 
Control: Three classes of weed-control measures are used: 
Crowding or shading out with a heavy, dense, close-knit turf of desirable 
permanent grasses. 
Manual control, effected by digging, pulling, clipping, and in some instances 
complete renovation of the turf, followed by reseeding or sodding. 
Chemical control. (Page 11). 
It is often necessary to use more than one method of weed control to secure the 
desired results since soil and climatic conditions as well as vegetative cover vary 
from locality to locality. It is to be noted, therefore, that the practices outlined 
in the following pages are not necessarily applicable in every case. 
CROWDING AND SHADING 
Most weeds cannot stand competition, and do not usually appear where there is a 
dense, luxuriant growth of grass; on the contrary they flourish in patchy, under- 
nourished, close-mowed areas where the grass makes feeble growth. 
A fertilizer program should be so planned as to stimulate the growth of grass in 
fall and early spring. This will help to choke out weeds and prevent others from 
getting a foothold. If crabgrass is present the lawn should not be fertilized in late 
spring or early summer because crabgrass germinates late in the season, and any 
fertilizer applied late will stimulate the growth of crabgrass to the detriment of the 
desirable grasses. Organic fertilizers should not be applied to crabgrass-infested 
lawns in the spring. Fertilizing in fall or early spring will give sturdy growth, 
thereby producing a dense turf that will help to crowd out the crabgrass. This pro- 
cedure will also be helpful in controlling many other lawn weeds. 
During the summer months (June to August) the lawn should be mowed less fre- 
quently and cut to a height of two inches. This will tend to discourage weed 
growth, especially annuals, due to a combination of crowding and shading. It will 
also be found helpful in the control of crabgrass. 
INDIVIDUAL PLANT TREATMENT 
An effective if somewhat laborious treatment is cutting the plant below the surface 
of the ground. One cutting or digging of perennial weeds will not always kill them; 
this is especially true of dandelions. These plants have a long tap root capable of 
sending out new shoots to a considerable depth, but continual cutting of new growth 
will in time exhaust the food reserves in the root and result in the death of the plant. 
A pinch of dry salt or a few drops of gasoline on the cut section of perennial plant 
roots will materially retard and often prevent the recovery of the plants. 
Annual and most perennial weeds can be controlled by pulling the plant up root and 
all. Where plants are few and scattered this may be the most practical means of 
eradication. 
