ÅGreen Thumb: Wanted: Buffelgrass dead and gone!

Master Gardener

Buffelgrass was introduced to the Santa Cruz Valley by the U.S. Department of Agriculture when planted in the 1930s to reclaim abandoned farm land. The plan was to stem soil erosion.

It was also planted on the Caterpillar Proving Grounds and Santa Rita Experimental Range in the Green Valley area.

Only botanists were aware of its presence in Arizona until 1990. Now buffelgrass covers the southern half of our state.

What once seemed like the answer to a dream, is now described as “invasive, a threat, fire hazard, and dangerous.”

Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) is a bunch grass native of South Africa. This grass does not cross-pollinate; all seedlings are clones. For buffel to grow, the climate is too dry west of here and too cold above 4,000 feet. However, it grows all the way up “A” Mountain in Tucson, and lines the sides and medians of Interstate 10 and I-19. Its presence has become epidemic within the city of Phoenix.

Why is it so thick along roadsides? Heat from asphalt and automobiles protects it from the winter cold. Water is available from roads’ edge runoff. Wind created by traffic transports the seeds. The growth of buffel is exponentially every monsoon season. With the quantity doubling each year, one-half of the buffelgrass population must be removed annually to maintain the quantity… or the numbers continue to increase!

In Mexico, this grass continues to be planted and used as animal feed. In the U.S., it has been determined to be too woody and not nutritional enough for agriculture. Unfortunately, it still crosses the border in vehicles, on persons, and of course in the wind.

This very drought-tolerant perennial spreads even in the driest years. Also called African foxtail grass, it grows from 1-1/2 to 3 feet high and wide. It branches profusely and densely, producing new leaves and flower spikes very quickly after even light rain, making it a busy seed producer.

Many ask, “Why is it so bad?” The key word is fire.

Buffel burns easily, recovers quickly, and creates added fuel for more and bigger fires. It burns at 1300 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to peel rocks!

In Mexico, so many telephone poles have been lost to buffel fires, that they are now encased in metal sleeves. This grass creates a 20-foot to 30-foot flame, and should not be closer than this to any structure.

Buffelgrass burns year round and supports hotter fires. Our desert developed without fire and most native plants cannot tolerate it. It creates fuel continuity by covering with grass what was formerly bare or rock-covered space between desert vegetation. Burying slower-growing native cacti and shrubs beneath the spreading grassland allows for no natural firebreaks.

To learn more about this noxious weed and what can be done about it, plan to attend The Green Valley Gardeners Seminar tomorrow, Thursday, at East Center, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. There we will talk about buffelgrass…its history, its dangers, what is being done now, what you can do in your own neighborhood, and future plans to manage it. Currently, this grass cannot be eradicated, but it is imperative we control it!§S§Green Thumb is written by Green Valley Gqardeners with assistance from seminar speakers. The column runs Wednesdays in the Green Valley News.