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Zoysia, Torpedograss, and Quinclorac

Posted on 6/2/25 at 10:39 am
Posted by keepAMERICAstrong
Tiger Stadium or the Box...
Member since Aug 2008
389 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 10:39 am
All - seeking guidance. Context: Last November I had my front lawn resodded. The old lawn was a mess of weeds and torpedo grass. The crew used a sod cutter and dug down 10 inches discarding everything. They then sprayed to kill any torpedo grass roots at that level. Then they came back in with new fill and laid zoysia sod on top.

I recently noticed torpedo creeping back into the lawn. I applied Quinclorac and a surfactant about 3 weeks ago where I saw the torpedo. It definitely has beat back the torpedo but it also yellowed the zoysia pretty good. The lawn now looks spotty. I fertilized the lawn about 10 days after the Quinclorac treatment and the lawn seems happy everywhere else.

Questions: is the yellowing of zoysia normal? How often can I selectively spray the new torpedograss that has since appeared?

Any other tips for a newbie?

Thank you all!
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
46135 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 11:22 am to
once you have torpedo grass you always have torpedo grass. It is a wonder of the natural world in its tenacity
Posted by bayoubengals88
LA
Member since Sep 2007
23479 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 11:33 am to
quote:

Questions: is the yellowing of zoysia normal? How often can I selectively spray the new torpedograss that has since appeared?

Probably. Need to know the following?
What did you apply?
How much did you apply?
Did you add a surfactant?
Posted by Neauxla
New Orleans
Member since Feb 2008
33965 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 12:30 pm to
Anyone used Atrazine on Zoysia? I know it doesn't say it is for Zoysia but I've seen online that some people use it anyway.
Posted by Tiger-Striped-Bass
The Bay Area
Member since Dec 2004
1273 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 1:14 pm to
quote:

once you have torpedo grass you always have torpedo grass


For a long time I would have agreed. I put down emerald zoysia over batture dirt in 2005 and had two spots that torpedo came up. It took 18 years to finally be free of it. I had tried everything imaginable, including straight 41% glyphosate/roundup. What finally worked for me over the course of about three summers, was spraying properly mixed Quinclorac over it, and then sprinkling the unmixed micro-pellets on the wetted grass I had just sprayed, with the thought of providing extended retention time in the soil. I repeated that each time it returned. Last year was the first year it never came back up. It hasn't this year either.

If you want to have any chance of getting rid of it, the first thing you have to let go of is saving the good grass in the treatment area. That's never going to happen. But it will come back.

Edit: At its worst, the two areas I had only reached maybe 10sqft each. And it got to that extent in times when I got apathetic/lazy towards it. But if you stay on it, even if you're not successful, you can keep it from getting worse. But the method I described above worked for me. If you have a much larger infestation, that will require a lot of effort, even by my method.
This post was edited on 6/2/25 at 1:19 pm
Posted by keepAMERICAstrong
Tiger Stadium or the Box...
Member since Aug 2008
389 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 2:00 pm to
I used Quali-Pro Quinclorac 75 DF

I think the ratio was 2TBSP per gallon water. And yes, I used a surfactant
Posted by keepAMERICAstrong
Tiger Stadium or the Box...
Member since Aug 2008
389 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 2:01 pm to
Awful news
Posted by LEASTBAY
Member since Aug 2007
16202 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 2:15 pm to
It will recover. I transitioned my front yard from St Aug to Bermuda with the same quinclorac and MSO. It does yellow it a bit.
Posted by Tifway419
Member since Sep 2022
1580 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 2:40 pm to
Don’t give up, keep at it. I had some a few years ago that I was able to control with repeated applications of Quinclorac (in my Bermuda).

Then when it was a small enough patch, I used glyphosate to kill the rest knowing it would also kill my grass. It was worth it, I just plugged that area and the bermuda filled back in in a month or so.

Keep us updated on how’s it going.
Posted by bayoubengals88
LA
Member since Sep 2007
23479 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 3:28 pm to
quote:

I think the ratio was 2TBSP per gallon water. And yes, I used a surfactant

The label says 1 tbsp per gallon for spot spraying. Maybe you went a little heavy. The surfactant will also damage the turfgrass in high temps.

Next time, go lighter, even if it requires more applications, and mix iron with the quinclorac as per the label. This will help with the yellowing.

But still, I think you'll be ok.
This post was edited on 6/2/25 at 3:29 pm
Posted by DIGGY
Member since Nov 2012
1910 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 4:13 pm to
Go with 1 tbsp per gallon. Use Methylated Seed Oil as surfactant. Increasing temps probably played a role in the yellow with the higher rate used. It will be ok. Always make sure to apply quinclorac when soil moisture is high. Preferably a day before a good rain is predicted as it always works better in these conditions being both foliar and root absorbed.
Posted by Bsltee
Member since Mar 2022
43 posts
Posted on 6/4/25 at 11:27 am to
A product called DRIVE should kill the torpedo grass without affecting zoysia. It will require more than one treatment and may take up to a year to get all torpedo grass.
Posted by DIGGY
Member since Nov 2012
1910 posts
Posted on 6/4/25 at 11:53 am to
Quinclorac is the active ingredient in Drive XLR8.
Posted by Bsltee
Member since Mar 2022
43 posts
Posted on 6/4/25 at 11:59 am to
Yes I know. Drive is just easier to use.
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