Pancrazio

Around my banana it does grow a very invasive alien specie of weed, and since it has an extensive underground part, and weeding isn't really an option, i was thinking about using glyphosate in the hope to get rid of it. But since it is basically growing entwined with my bananas i would like to know if there are any adverse effect of glyphosate on bananas (given that i will take active measures to avoid direct contact between glyphosate and pstems).
Has anyone any kind of information about it?

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Pancrazio

Ooops wrong forum. Can it be moved in main bananas discussion?

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kubali

do not spray it any where close to the bananas it will kill them and taint the soil for weeks to come

Pancrazio

Thanks! Valuable suggestion. Is there any weed killer that is safe for bananas?

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Tytaylor77

2 feet of mulch. Haha

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garymc

Glyphosate will only kill plants when it gets on the foliage. If the foliage of your weed can be leaned away from the banana leaves and you use a coarse spray, you can kill the weed. Glyphosate will travel through the weed and kill it's roots. In order for it to translocate through the plant, the dose can't be so high that the leaves are immediately killed and it doesn't travel through the plant. Spray a coarse spray, not a mist that will drift. You may have to spray it a second time (it works best if you do.) Read the ingredients on your product and make sure it doesn't have another chemical that is active in the soil. I use a piece of cardboard to shield other plants from any drift just to make sure.

edited to add:
If the weed you are talking about is a grass with blades, you can use clethodim, a selective grass killer that won't harm broadleaf plants. I'm assuming that bananas are broad leaf plants and not grasses. I use it around grape vines and blackberry vines for killing grass and I've gotten it on the vines without harm to them. Spraying it on the ground or on plants you don't wish to kill is a waste of the spray and would be ill advised with clethodim, glyphosate, or any other herbicide. I have to edit this. "Any other herbicide" is wrong. Obviously, a pre-emergent herbicide is sprayed on the ground and stays in the soil to kill or prevent new plants from sprouting.

Pancrazio

Hey garymc, that you for your input.
The weed i'm talking about is a species of Cyperus, but i'm unsure on wich one.
I was worried about interactions with banana because reading on the instructions for my product, it was stated that some species could show sensitivity even if they do not directly enter in contact with the herbicide. I guess some soil mediated reaction.
Since the area invaded by the weed is heavily invaded, but it is relatively circumscribed, i was thinking to avoid spaying altogether and use a paintbrush to treat the soil surface/weed leaves on a nice warm-dry day. I for sure will have to repeat the treatment, because depending on physiological phase i have noticed that underground organs of plants have sometimes an hard time in being killed by herbicides. Still in cant' wait for autum in case i'm willing to treat it.

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trachcanman99

something to always remember when spraying any herbicide is it is best to spray on warm days which means it will evaporate and those fumes go up so if your plant is close to the area you sprayed you stand a chance of it burning those leaves. I found this out while answering fruit tree questions at the local ag extension office when a guy sprayed 2-4D under his oak trees in August and the trees started dying. the best way to use for point contact application of herbicides it to put on a glove rated to be used around chemicals then pull a cotton glove over it. Dip that hand into the properly prepared mixture in a wide mouth container. then just lightly grab the weed toward the base and pull up while allowing the plant to slide thru your hand with a slight pressure. This gets the chemical on the under side of the leaves which will enter the plant quicker. It is best to use this approach early in the day before it gets too hot and the leaf reduces the opening in the lower side to reduce loss of moisture. The herbicide you asked about attacks and kills the roots so it goes into the ground where the manufacturer claims it mostly breaks down within 24 hours. there is some debate on this last part about how long it stays active in the ground.

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