Plant Management in Florida Waters - An Integrated Approach

Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants - University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences & Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Invasive Plant Management Section

Torpedograss

Home / 1. Why Manage Plants? / Florida's Most Invasive Aquatic Plants / Torpedograss

Quick Facts MORE INFO
Scientific name	Panicum repens
Origin	Old World
Introduction	Late 1800s, forage grass
Aquatic community	Emergent
Habitat	Dry land to water six feet deep
Distribution	Statewide
Management effort	Complaint management
2017 public waters / plant acres	357 (77%) / 5,089
2017 Waters / acres controlled	32 / 2,177

Panicum repens

Panicum repens

Management Options
Biological	None available
Chemical	Glyphosate, imazapyr
Mechanical	Harvest floating mats Tilling can cut rhizomes into many viable fragments
Physical	Drawdown and burn prior to treating with herbicides; flood after treatments

Environmental and Economic Concerns

Spreads mostly by fragmentation and runners, but also by seed
Thick mats stop navigation and water movement
Displaces native plants in wet soils and shallow waters and marshes
Difficult to control due to extensive starch-laden rhizomes
Most widely dispersed invasive exotic plant in Florida public waters
Rapid growth and spread on exposed wet soils

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Status of the Aquatic Plant Maintenance Program in Florida Public Waters, Annual Report – Fiscal Year 2016-2017.