# Coffee Weed!! HELP!!!



## 270win (Feb 10, 2006)

I've got major issues with Coffee weed in my Grain Sorgum plots.  What can I do to get rid of this stuff?  We start bushhogging the plots in a few weeks for the spring plantings.

270win


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## Vernon Holt (Feb 10, 2006)

Big assignment!!  This pest is a prolific seeder, never failing to produce vast crops of seed that nothing will eat.

The big difficulty with the weed is the fact that only a small percentage of the seed will germinate at any one time.  Roundup will kill it, but will only kill the current crop.  Next time the soil is tilled, you bring more seeds to the surface.

Here is a scheme that would make inroads upon the weed, but would require that you plant no summer crop.  Till it in the early spring and let it lie until weeds and grass, (including coffeeweed) germinated and began to grow vigorously.  Spray the entire field with Roundup.

Till the soil again and repeat the same process.  You should be able to repeat this process at least three times during one summer.  You will have drastically reduced the incidence of coffee weed and other weeds and grasses as well.

Obviously you would have spent a few bucks along with expending some labor.  As far as I know there is no other way to deal with this nuisance.


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## 270win (Feb 10, 2006)

That stinks!!  I can't miss a summer crop of Sorgum.  We have a  Quail population that has to have the habitat....  I may just have to spot spray for it, maybe after our Sorgum comes up I'll use some pre-emergent for the seeds that are  on the ground still and spot spray with Roundup to try to kill the Coffee weed....  

270


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## SWAMPFOX (Feb 10, 2006)

Coffee bean AKA sickle pod is awful. I had to give up on summer food plots because I could not afford the resources required to control it. What Vernon said is the gist of it. Sandra may check in with some ideas in the no-till area. But be assured any type of soil disturbance will only make it worse. 

Long story longer, I have a four acre field that was a chore to control sickle pod, bermuda grass and johnson grass. Finally I just gave up and left it. Now it has become an outstanding bedding area for whitetails. Good luck and let us know if you hit on anything that works.


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## 270win (Feb 10, 2006)

I found an artical on the control of Coffee-weed.  Basically it's about like Vernon said.  But apparently I can make some progress by planting early.  It said that the other plants getting a head start on the Coffee-weed will prevent some germination because of competition.  Then whatever comes up will need to be spot sprayed.  

Next fall we will start having clients pay to hunt our Quail and so we really need to get this under control asap.  From what I'm seeing even with these methods it'll still take a few seasons to get rid of the infestation....  That's some pretty bad stuff!! 

It would probably make some good deer bedding areas.... but we have quite a bit of area for the deer, the Quail plots are layed out the facilitate hunting with dogs by hunting the fields systematically.

Some of our plots only have a little, some none and some are covered with it.

Thanks guys... I'll let you know how it goes.

270win


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## CAL (Feb 11, 2006)

Go ahead and plant your grain sorghum.It being a grass you can spray it with "atrex" and not hurt it but it will control the coffee weed.Rate is 1 qt.per acre.I would spray when the coffee weed comes up in the two or three leaf stage.Good luck with it.

Another way is to fix your field,let it stand for a week or two.Go in there and plant your grain sorghum,come back with your 'atrex" as this will give the weed time to germenate before the grain sorghum.


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## 270win (Feb 11, 2006)

CAL-
That's a good point.  I was thinking of the Coffeeweed as a grassy weed, not a broadleaf weed.  I guess there are a few selective herbicides that would kill Coffeeweed, especially while it's an immature plant.  Either way, I'm willing to do whatever is needed to get rid of this stuff.

Thanks!

270win


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## CAL (Feb 11, 2006)

270,coffee weed being a broad leaf you can hit it with 2-4-d amine also at any stage and not hurt your grain sorghum or corn either for that matter.Coffee weeds are something else too.I have plowed up places that have been fallow for 30-40 years and a coffee weed will come up there.It is a shame some kind of good plant wouldn't stay in the ground that long without germinating!


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## gadeerwoman (Feb 13, 2006)

Best way I have found to get rid of the stuff is to literally pull up the plants being careful to not break the seed head and then burn the darn things in a trash pile after they dry out. Every time I walk thru a food plot and see one, I pull it up and stick it in a big plastic garbage bag. Seeds can lay dorment for years and years and then the least little soil disturbance (timbering for example) can cause the dormant seeds to sprout. Herbicides will help but you'll have to make sure you hit every plant that comes back up and keep a close on it every time you till.
Weed from Satan !!


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## deuce (Feb 13, 2006)

I agree with Sandra on pulling up the weed. Whenever I'm in a food plot I look for them and pull em up and carry away in my pocket or sack if I have one. I did this last year. I live in bartow county and hunt in harris county and have never had coffee weed in my garden but somehow one of the seed was carried home probably on my tractor. Needless to say I pulled it up and destroyed it.


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## Woody (Feb 13, 2006)

Another method is to reduce soil disturbance.

Do the regular food plot routine in the fall (first frost will kill the coffee weed) ---- and drill your spring plots if you have access to the equipment. -- less disturbance in the spring means less coffee weed seeds will germinate.

Our county agent says coffee weed seeds can lay dormant for 30 or 40 years and were carried to that location by previous floods years ago.


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## 270win (Feb 13, 2006)

We have two farms that we manage for Quail.  Apparently they both had Coffee weed, last year they used a pre-emergent right after the Sorghum germanated and the results were outstanding.  We'll try it on this farm this season.  And we'll spot spray with a selective herbicide to help control it.  We'll be out managing the Sorghum weekly so I hope that'll help keep it clean.

270


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## quackwacker (Feb 13, 2006)

*Round up ready!*

I believe there is a round up ready sorghum, but if theres no give up the sorghum for a year and plant round up ready corn. then you can spray it and kill the coffee beans.

PS.  One of the best duck shoots I have ever been on was in Ark. in a flooded grown up coffee bean field.  The best ever!


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## CAL (Feb 13, 2006)

In my farming atrex at a 1 qt.per acre rate in 20 gals.water/acre will keep it coffee weed clean all growing season.Put out pre.plant or post emergence.


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## 270win (Feb 14, 2006)

There is a Roundup ready Sorgum.  That's what we'll be planting.  We're going to use Roundup extended control to kill the weeds and pre-emerge.   

Thanks to everyone!!

270


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