Para grass, Urochloa mutica, grows in the southeastern United States in fields, marshes and swamps. It spreads by runners to form dense stands. It can be controlled with herbicides, but managers often wish to avoid using herbicides in sensitive wetland areas. Research on non-chemical control methods in Florida show that Para grass can be controlled using a combination of flame weeding or mowing and flooding. Particularly in areas where water levels can be manipulated, burning or cutting plants prior to flooding proved can be an effective means of killing Para grass.
Sushila Chaudhari, Brent A. Sellers, Stephen V. Rockwood, Jason A. Ferrell, Gregory E. MacDonald, Kevin E. Kenworthy. 2012. Nonchemical Methods for Paragrass (Urochloa mutica) Control. Invasive Plant Science and Management: January-March 2012, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 20-26.
The article encourages the use of weed risk assessments, but points out that with new suppliers, a history of invasion by a particular plant might be hard to come by and invasion history is an important factor in determining risk. On a positive note, the authors point out that one nursery promoting drought tolerant plants has mostly increased the number of drought tolerant native plants it offers.