A method of improving wear tolerance of desirable plants and reducing weed pressure involves periodically applying mechanical abrasion to the desirable plants and the undesirable plants, wherein the level of mechanical abrasion is selected to be damaging to the undesirable plants and substantially within the wear tolerance of the desirable plants. The desirable plants may include turfgrasses and/or forage grasses. The mechanical abrasion may be applied by a rotating cylindrical brush with bristles engaging a base having a plurality of grooves. In one example, the period of applying mechanical abrasion is about once per week.