Johnsongrass

I received a phone call yesterday from a homeowner proclaiming, “there’s corn coming up in my lawn!” I asked if the lawn was newly seeded and the caller said it was not; the lawn had been established several years ago. It’s a useful question because wheat is notorious for springing up from errant seed in straw used to cover turf seed.

During today's BYGL Zoom Inservice, Dave Gardner (Turfgrass Science, OSU Horticulture and Crop Science) showed pictures of Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense, family Poaceae) springing up in turfgrass. The coarse bladed warm-season grass strongly resembles young corn plants and may present a weed identification challenge in turf.

Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense, family Poaceae) is a non-native perennial grassy weed that is becoming a serious problem in Ohio landscapes and nurseries.