Broomsedge Infestations Are Highly Visible In Fall Pastures

Oct 26, 2015

Goodchild broomsedge

Mature broomsedge. Photo credit: Melinda Brakie, USDA NRCS East Texas Plant Materials Center

It is common place now to see maturing broomsedge in our pasture and hayfields. Broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus) is not really a sedge at all, but a native grass. It seems to shoot up overnight after being inconspicuous for most of the growing season. This clump-forming, native warm season grass turns golden brown in the fall with numerous white seed heads that are easily dispersed by the wind. The bad news is the nutritive value as livestock forage is very low which makes our pastures less productive when the broom-sedge component increases. Low fertility soils and over-grazing leads to the encroachment of broomsedge. The presence of this grass is an indicator of low pH and low phosphorus, and to some degree low potassium (potash) in your soils. It is always wise to test your soil to confirm these deficiencies.

The majority of pasture herbicides are not effective in controlling broomsedge, without killing your desired pasture grasses. Control of broomsedge in established pastures requires using weed wiper equipment or spot treatment with glyphosate herbicides. In late summer broomsedge will begin to tower above other grasses allowing for selective control using a wicking device. Herbicides will be most effective on healthy, actively growing plants, so avoid application during periods of extended drought, and after maturity with seed head formation. This is the time of year to make note of the most serious infestations for treatment in the years ahead.

Of course as the name applies you can make brooms from the broomsedge to sell and subsidize the income lost from your pastures caused by this grass. But, on a more serious note, broom-sedge does provide nesting areas for turkey and quail in forested areas. Small birds also utilize the seeds in the dormant, winter months when other seed is unavailable.

Source:ufl.edu

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.