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4 ' <br /> garlic mustard plants,take care to remove the entire root, since they may re-sprout <br /> if part of the root is left in the ground. This can be difficult,since roots are"S- <br /> shaped"and tend to break off at ground level. <br /> P <br /> Chemical control is not recommended except in cases where garlic mustard is <br /> growing in large monocultural patches. In such cases,a systemic herbicide may be <br /> appropriate. Glyphosate is non-specific,and will kill any actively growing plant. <br /> One technique that has been effective is applying a water soluble herbicide during <br /> warm days in the winter,when no snow cover or only a thin snow cover exists. <br /> Garlic mustard rosettes (first year plants) remain green mostly all year round,and <br /> can be killed during the winter when nearly all other plants are dormant. Another <br /> successful technique is to use an herbicide specific to broadleaved plants,like <br /> triclopyr ("Garlon"),but one that is water soluble,which can be dispensed with a <br /> backpack sprayer or the like; this will not kill grasses or sedges. <br /> There are studies underway by the Minnesota DNR and University of Minnesota that <br /> show good potential for bio-control of garlic mustard via an exotic weevil <br /> (http://www.legacy.leg.mn/projects/biological-control-european-buckthorn-and- <br /> garlic-mustard).The testing phase is complete,but the approval process still needs <br /> to be performed. If approved,this method could revolutionize garlic mustard <br /> control. However,whether it will be effective or not on a landscape scale is yet to be <br /> determined. <br /> GRASSES <br /> Smooth brome <br /> Smooth brome is a cool season grass—active early in the growing season in <br /> southern Minnesota (April-May-June) and then going semi-dormant in July- <br /> September. It reproduces by means of underground stems (stolons and rhizomes) <br /> called"tillers".The most effective treatment is timed to occur at the same time as <br /> the brome is "tillering"—mid to late May in southern Minnesota. Burning two years <br /> in a row (late-season burns in June) followed by seeding has been shown to be <br /> effective in controlling smooth brome. Consider that this timing may be a week or <br /> two earlier on steep south-facing slopes or in very sandy or sand-gravel soils. <br /> Following this method will usually be sufficient to control smooth brome. Seeding <br /> following burns,preferably with native seed collected on-site, or purchased from a <br /> seller that provides local ecotypes,is important for restoring cover at the site. <br /> Evaluation can occur each year,and especially after two years. If this is not working, <br /> perhaps try a cool-season overspray of a grass-specific herbicide either in the spring <br /> (April) or in the fall (October). Using glyphosate as a cool-season overspray <br /> herbicide application is a last resort, since it is non-specific and can kill everything. <br /> Kentucky bluegrass and creeping fescue can be treated similarly to smooth brome, <br /> since like smooth brome,they are both exotic,stoloniferous, cool-season grasses. <br /> Spring burns are the most effective tool against all of these species. <br /> Friends of the Mississippi River Bailey Point Nature Preserve NRMP <br /> 81 <br />