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Cogon Grass Creeping Through The South06-07-07 | News

Cogon Grass Creeping Through The South

To control cogon grass, herbicide makers and the government recommend first burning or mowing it in the summer to remove older leaves and thatch. The plant should then be tilled into the soil, if possible. After letting the grass re-sprout and grow for one to four months, herbicide should be applied.

Cogon grass, (Imperata cylindrical), an aggressive plant with no naturally occurring enemies and with almost a century in the US is still advancing across Mississippi, now colonizing two-thirds of the state.

According to the U.S. Forestry Service, it came in a shipment of Japanese orange trees as crate-packing material into Mobile in 1912. A second introduction came from the Philippines to Mississippi in 1921, during a U.S. Department of Agriculture study to use it as a possible forage grass for livestock.

It can grow from two to four feet and overtakes native plants, changing the ecosystem and habitat for animals, according to the National Park Service. It is considered one of the world?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Several studies have found it grows on sand dunes, along roadsides, in forests and in open fields throughout the southeast.

It also burns hotter and more readily than much of the vegetation it supplants, changing the way fire moves through areas it has infested. It is said to burn up to 840 degrees Fahrenheit, proving a significant danger to the area it has invaded.

Source: Sunherald.com