Which weed is a summer annual grass?

Which weed is a summer annual grass?

• A. Bermudagrass
• B. Sandspur
• C. Crabgrass
• D. Bluegrass

Answer: (B)

The trait being tested is the weed’s life cycle type—whether it completes its life cycle in one growing season (summer annual) or persists year after year (perennial). Sandspur is a warm-season annual grass. It germinates as soils warm in spring to early summer, grows quickly through the heat of summer, sets seed and burrs, and dies with the first frost. Because it relies on new seed each year and does not survive winter with underground stems or crown growth, it fits the definition of a summer annual grass. In contrast, bermudagrass is a perennial warm-season grass that persists year after year through runners and crowns; bluegrass is a cool-season perennial; crabgrass is also a common summer annual, but the example here highlights sandspur as the classic summer annual weed to recognize. For management, target seed production with timely preemergents and maintain healthy turf to outcompete these annuals.

The trait being tested is the weed’s life cycle type—whether it completes its life cycle in one growing season (summer annual) or persists year after year (perennial). Sandspur is a warm-season annual grass. It germinates as soils warm in spring to early summer, grows quickly through the heat of summer, sets seed and burrs, and dies with the first frost. Because it relies on new seed each year and does not survive winter with underground stems or crown growth, it fits the definition of a summer annual grass.

In contrast, bermudagrass is a perennial warm-season grass that persists year after year through runners and crowns; bluegrass is a cool-season perennial; crabgrass is also a common summer annual, but the example here highlights sandspur as the classic summer annual weed to recognize. For management, target seed production with timely preemergents and maintain healthy turf to outcompete these annuals.