The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension's Living with Fire program wants to remind residents to decrease fire dangers for next year by getting rid of cheatgrass now.
They said cheatgrass is a winter annual, meaning it germinates during the fall and early winter, survives the winter, grows in the spring and then dies in the winter.
They said the seeds from the dead plant can remain in the soil up to five to seven years and will germinate under the right conditions.
The goal is to decrease the amount of seeds present in the soil, so residents are urged to get the plants before they drop seeds.
Here are some ways to control the cheatgrass in your area, depending on the conditions:
If cheatgrass hasn't germinated, preemergence herbicides can work.
If cheatgrass has already sprouted, here are some options:
- grazing animals
- mechanical methods like hand pulling, hoeing, weedeating, etc.
- post-emergent herbicides
For more information, you can visit the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension's Living with Fire program here.
