Johnsongrass Quackgrass Official Control Program Description Quackgrass is a perennial, reproducing by seed and underground rootstocks. Roots arise only at the nodes. Stems grow up to 3 feet tall with 3 to 6 joints.
Leaves are wide, shiny, and dark green in color.
The lower dry sheaths, leaves, and stems are distinctly hairy. Upper sheaths glabrous or nearly so. Terminal spikes are 2 to 4 inches long and have 3 to 7 short-awned florets in a spikelet. The seed, with investing glumes, is elongated toward the slender, short-awned tip, broadest below the middle and tapered to the blunt base. The occurrence of new infestations of quackgrass can be reduced by planting weed free seed, using livestock feed materials free of quackgrass seed and cleaning equipment before leaving infested fields.