Our weed services include woody weeds through to clovers and bindies in homeowners lawns and sports grounds. Direct Pest Control has also acted in a consulting role to Government and private companies.

Major Weeds in Turf

Barnyard grass
(Echinochloa crus-galli)


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A very variable species, barnyard grass is an erect, clumped annual with stems often branching from the lower nodes. Leaves are flat tapering to a point and are hairless or with a few hairs on the margins near the base. Barnyard grass is a major weed of rice and is also a problem in other irrigated crops. In turf it can be a significant problem where turf is irrigated.

An annual weed, native to South America, Bindii is a small rosette forming weeds with stolons capable of forming additional rosettes.  It is a significant winter and early spring weeds of all turf areas in NSW, QLD, Vic., SA and Tasmania.

Commonly called cape dandelion, capeweed is an annual with club shaped cotyledons.  The first leaves of seedling are spear shaped.  These first leaves grow as a pair, however, subsequent leaves grow singularly.  Rosettes can be up to 50cm when mature, with yellow flowers containing a black centre.

A slender weeds with carrot-like leaves.  Stems are branching and often take root near the base.  Carrot weeds is widespread throughout Australia and is a significant weed of turf, particularly in moist shaded areas.

A native of Europe, now established worldwide.  Chickweed is a delicate annual weed with angular stems.  Flowers are white with 5 petals which are deeply bisected and surrounded by longer hairy sepals.  It is widespread throughout Australia and is a major weed of gardens and lawns in Southern Australia.  The root system is very thin and delicate and pulls away from the soil very easily.

Trifolium repens or white clover is by far the most important clover weed of turf.  It is a significant problem in parkland and golf fairways throughout winter and early spring.

An erect creeping perennial weeds which is a native of Europe. The flowers are yellow.

Creeping oxalis or yellow wood sorrel is a species possibly introduced from South America. It is a widespread weed of gardens and turf in all states of Australia. It has trifoliate leaves and yellow flowers with 5 petals.

Crowsfoot grass (‘goosegrass’ in the US) is a tufted, hairless annual which can reach 50cm in height with a very strong fibrous root system. Stems are upright to sprawling and can form a mat, however they do not take root at the nodes. Leaves are shiny, green and hair free. Crowsfoot grass germinates when soil temperatures reach 15° to 18°C. This can be approximately 2-3 weeks later than Summer grass. It also requires moisture and light for germination. It is very competitive in thin, open turf and turf subject to heavy traffic. It is a most troublesome weed on golf tees, fairways and sporting fields where heavy traffic is a problem.

A short-lived perennial with a strong tap-root. Leaves are hairless with backward pointing teeth. Rosette grow flat.  Flowers are yellow. Dandelion is a widespread weed of turf in most areas of Australia, particularly the cooler moister regions of temperate Australia

A native of Europe, fat hen is an annual erect plant growing to about 1 metre. Distribution is in all states with a major problem in waste land and in gardens.

A perennial weed growing in all states.  Flatweed is a common weed of lawns and gardens. It has yellow flowers.

Native to America, fleabane is an annual summer growing weed common in irrigated areas.  It is prevalent in all states of Australia.

Native to Europe, fumitory is not considered a major weed of turf, however, it can be a problem in garden areas. It is an annual weed which sprawls as it matures.

A very common weed of turf and lawns, lambs tounge is a perennial weed easily identified by the distinct parallel veins on the leaves. It is common in all areas of Australia.

One of the worlds worst weeds, nutgrass is a perennial which has underground "nuts" which develop on rhizomes. These nuts develop new shoots and new rhizomes. Nutgrass is particularly difficult to control.

A native of South America, paspalum is a perennial summer growing grass with short rhizomes. It is a major weed of turf particularly in the sub-tropical regions, although it is also a problem in Australia’s southern states as well.

Common on sandy soils, pennywort is a native of South America. It spreads by underground stems that root at the nodes. It has bright green leaves.

Called ‘crabgrass’ in the US, there are two species of summer grass in Australia, namely, D. ciliaris and D. sanguinalis. Both are annuals with fibrous roots and clusters of soft stems which grow close to the ground and often take root at the nodes. Leaves are hairy and quite soft. They germinate when soil temperatures reach 12° to 15°C at 10cm depth. Alternating dry and wet conditions at soil surface in the spring encourages germination. They germinate and grow best when adequate light and moisture are present. They compete best with turf when the turfgrass is thin and open, mowing height is incorrect and light frequent irrigations are applied. The differences between the 2 species are only slight.

Two common species of thistles found in turf are:

saffron thistle (Carthamus Ianatus) and variegated thistle (Silybum marianum). Both are native to Europe and are prevalent in all Australian states. They are both annual weeds with saffron having yellow flowers, and variegated having purple-mauve flowers.

An annual weed native to Southern Africa. Three-cornered jack, or spiny emex as it is commonly called, is a strong tap-rooted, prostrate weed.  It is distributed widely in all mainland states.

Winter grass is a light green, bunch type to slightly spreading, winter annual weed.  Some subspecies exist that are short lived perennials.  Which are particularly evident in bentgrass golf greens. Winter grass is widespread throughout Australia and is a significant weed problem in many situations.  Winter grass requires a significant amount of light to germinate, and it's optimum temperature range for germination is from 10-16ºC.

  
- Photographs and information courtesy of Bayer Environmental Science -