[MAIPC] [EXTERNAL] Re: Another stiltgrass question

Mon Oct 18 06:51:12 PDT 2021

Last week I attended a workshop on this topic, held by the Pennsylvania Prescribed Fire Council and led by the Pennsylvania Game Commission at SGL #145. They found in herbaceous openings in which they had previously seeded with native wildflower/forb mixes, it worked well to burn the stiltgrass thatch off in early spring and follow with Volunteer grass-selective herbicide two weeks after stiltgrass seeds germinated post-burn. Competition by native forbs after burn and herbicide was key in continued control of stiltgrass.
Given, Deborah's comment about spring burns encouraging stiltgrass growth, perhaps this tactic allows for better control with herbicide if more seeds have germinated post-burn.
If anyone would like to talk with the PGC managers employing this technique, Jenny Case (jcase at tnc.org) at TNC can probably give you their contact info. 

On Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 8:36 AM, Deborah Landau<dlandau at TNC.ORG> wrote:    
In terms of RX fire, my experience has been that spring burns encourage stiltgrass growth. An early fall burn can knock it back, if it’s timed just right (i.e., if it’s still in seed), but it’s often too difficult to burn annually, thus the seedbank remains.

Please note new address and phone number

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Deborah Landau, Ph.D.
Director of Ecological Management
dlandau at tnc.org
(240) 630-7049 (Phone) 
(240) 888-2041 (Mobile) 
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The Nature Conservancy
Maryland/D.C. Chapter 
425 Barlow Place
Suite 100
Bethesda, MD 20814
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From: MAIPC <maipc-bounces at lists.maipc.org> On Behalf OfKneipp, Gregg H
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 2021 8:46 AM
To: Heidi Allen <rundvm at gmail.com>; Marc Imlay <ialm at erols.com>; MAIPC Listserve <maipc at lists.maipc.org>; Randall, Johnny <jrandall at email.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: [MAIPC] [EXTERNAL] Re: Another stiltgrass question

Good Morning, everyone.  Another few questions concerning stiltgrass.  Does anyone know how long after flowering that viable seed is produced?  And, has anyone ever tried prescribed fire to control stiltgrass? If so, how successful and what was your timing?  Thanks!

Thanks, 

Gregg Kneipp

Chief of Resources Management 

Prince William Forest Park 

National Park Service 

From: MAIPC <maipc-bounces at lists.maipc.org> on behalf of Heidi Allen <rundvm at gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2021 11:00:08 PM
To: Marc Imlay <ialm at erols.com>; MAIPC Listserve <maipc at lists.maipc.org>; Randall, Johnny <jrandall at email.unc.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [MAIPC] Another stiltgrass question 

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I am having good succes and it is hard to hear the number of people who struggle with stitlgrass when I have more problems with mile-a-minute and garlic mustard.  I am wondering if it is me or the park. Or maybe both. 

Similar to Marc’s comment, I often need about 3 years before I feel that I am winning the battle, but if I count the bags being removed it is obvious that they are decreasing. 

The park I am currently working in is a 150 acre park with both wooded, dry uplands with minimal stiltgrass and lowland flood zones that are densely covered. We surround a couple of athletic fields and an elementary school. The park is into a community and there are several drainage streams from the community’s roadways. We have a fairly acidic, clay based soil and a healthy forrest with a decent amount of shade in many areas.  We also have a large and very diverse native seed load so planting is often not required. 

The program I use is a 2-3 year mass removal where I do not care about getting every single plant, instead we focus on dropping the seed low in the most efficient way possible. After 2-3 years we can start to pick spots where we can clear the stiltgrass and by year  6-7 we are removing only a scattered amount if that. Recently I started to use a bow rake which appears to remove 95% of plants if not more and has increased our success rate. The rakes seem to work best if you wait until mid to late August to use and they have minimal effect on most native plants.

I also try to let an area rest in between removal time periods - removing some of the plants and then going back 6-12 months later to do more removal. This seems to allow our native plants more time to grow and reproduce. 

Of course, I am making a lot of assumptions in all of this. 

Thanks for your guidance. 

-- 
Heidi

On October 16, 2021 at 10:11:09 PM, Randall, Johnny (jrandall at email.unc.edu) wrote:

Heidi and others. I think there are too many variables to consider on stiltgrass invasion and persistence to answer your questions. Removal in areas where it is infrequently (re)introduced (outside of floodways) is a viable solution. It’s a C-4 grass which gives it the physiological/anatomical potential to persist in uplands unless it is removed before going to seed.

Johnny Randall

From: MAIPC <maipc-bounces at lists.maipc.org>On Behalf Of Marc Imlay
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2021 10:03 PM
To: 'Heidi Allen' <rundvm at gmail.com>; 'MAIPC Listserve' <maipc at lists.maipc.org>
Subject: Re: [MAIPC] Another stiltgrass question

Before stiltgrass has moved in too fast into my park from elsewhere, I found if I removed it all for 3 years, by the 4th year I was finally happy. Marc

From: MAIPC <maipc-bounces at lists.maipc.org>On Behalf Of Heidi Allen
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2021 2:24 PM
To: MAIPC Listserve <maipc at lists.maipc.org>
Subject: [MAIPC] Another stiltgrass question

I know there have been several discussions about stiltgrass and I apologize if I have missed some information. But, I am trying to figure out the difference between my volunteer site and other volunteer’s success in removing stiltgrass.  

Besides shade, soil characteristics (pH, moisture, etc. ), and deer browsing has anyone looked into the  habitat restoration plan or the native seed bank to see if there is an effect upon % of stiltgrass seeds that germinate, survival rate of seeds, and growth rate of the stiltgrass? 

 I am specifically wondering about the following items:

1) The number of native seeds, not type of seeds.

2) the process of invasive removal - either removing all invasive plants in one year (repeating as needed) or a staging process over several years - bushes, vines, forbs, other graminoids, then stiltgrass.

3) Planting native plants (plugs and quart sized plants) vs  doing nothing vs using a seed mix. 

I appreciate my guidance people can provide. 

-- 
Heidi

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