# Spraying Smooth Brome



## MT hayer (Mar 1, 2014)

Looking for some advice on getting rid of smooth brome. It is only good in the spring for grazing, and being rhizominous, it chokes itself and everything out. Looking for a spray or some treatment to get rid of it. Roundup is a waist of time. Possibly something grass specific? Maybe a certain ph it doesn't like?Want to grain crop for 1 or 2 years, then go back with meadow brome, bunch grass. My ideal hay is 70 alfalfa, 30 grass, but this brome needs to go. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.


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## farmergann (Oct 21, 2021)

Around here spring and/or fall burns do wonders for us against cool season invasive grasses.

Beyond burning, my personal bag of tricks for getting rid of basically anything I don't want over the course of a couple years is simple: mow (or otherwise disturb) when it's most harmful to reproduction, get a good thick stand of cereal rye down in the late summer, then sickle that down without windrowing the following year once the rye is about 5-6' high. Smothers everything and is so easy to seed into, that a van brunt will suffice in the place of a no till unit. Those ridiculous rollers the no-till gurus use are a waste of metal for po boys like me. 

I've done basically the same thing using Johnsongrass, but that was a bit more variable in its effectiveness. Seems like it took more tonnage/biomass for the same result. I don't know what you have available to use where you're at, but there's a newer variety of oats (everleaf) that looks like it might make one helluva smother crop in oat/pea regions to beat unwanted C3 species.


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## MT hayer (Mar 1, 2014)

Thanks for some ideas. We only had about 6 inches of moisture in 21, so probably not going to try any burning!😎 on fires I have been on, it doesn't seem to phase the growth, now I have never tried to purposely burn it in the spring. Usually grazing in the spring will slow it's growth. It has such a massive rhizominous root structure is the issue. I understand the smothering part, but doesn't seem to work. I did get a tip from a friend to try some Assure 2 or Select. So might do a trial spot later this spring. Thanks.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

I find it odd that you aren’t getting any kill from roundup. Even if you had to spray it twice a month or so apart, it should absolutely kill it.


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## MT hayer (Mar 1, 2014)

It kills the bunch grasses, created wheatgrass, Russian wild rye, quite easy. But the rhizome root mass just has a lot of life in it. Some of it might be timing too. I also am ok with the old alfalfa staying alive. Hard to explain but I don't want to be rid of all the living roots, just the smooth brome. Inland salt grass will be the target if I can get rid of the brome.


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