🌿 Weed
ANX-WEED-0000253
Bermuda Grass
Cynodon dactylon
Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon), a perennial grass weed of the Poaceae family.
- Family
- Poaceae
- Growth habit
- Grass
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Invasive status
- Naturalized; can be invasive in cropland despite also being a deliberately planted forage/turf grass
- Native region
- Africa, now pantropical/warm-temperate worldwide.
- Reproduction
- Seed, stolons, and rhizomes - spreads aggressively via both above- and below-ground runners.
Environment
Habitat & Growing Conditions
- Habitat
- Fields, pastures, lawns, roadsides; also cultivated deliberately as a forage/turf grass.
- Climate requirements
- Warm-season grass, thrives in full sun and heat, dormant/browns in cold winters.
- Soil types
- Extremely tolerant of poor, compacted, saline, or drought-prone soils.
Impact
Crops Affected & Economic Impact
- Affected crops
- Row crops, orchards, vineyards, vegetable fields
- Competition impact
- Dense mat of rhizomes/stolons competes aggressively for water and nutrients and is very difficult to remove once established in cropland.
- Economic impact
- A valuable forage/turf grass in the right context, but one of the most persistent weeds once it invades cultivated fields.
Management
Control Methods
- Control methods
- Deep tillage to expose rhizomes to desiccation, repeated mowing/grazing suppression, and smother cropping.
- Organic control
- Solarization, repeated deep cultivation in dry weather to dessicate rhizome fragments, thick mulching.
- Chemical control
- Systemic non-selective herbicides (e.g. glyphosate) applied to actively growing foliage; selective grass herbicides in broadleaf crops.