- Author: Carl E. Bell
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Some tips on grazing for invasive plant control
Using livestock for controlling invasive plants has a lot of appeal; the animals seem like a natural, green method; they're cute; and at times they can be a very inexpensive way to do some weed control. But there are also various difficulties and issues with using livestock that should be understood before you jump into a grazing program, I've discussed some below.
Livestock have different eating preferences and needs; Cattle (photo of cattle courtesy of Jack Kelly Clark, UCANR) like grass, sheep like grass and forbs, goats like browse (foliage on stems of woody shrubs, young stems and bark, like photo), and horses like grass.
They eat...
- Author: Steven Fennimore
The weed science program at UC Davis has a long and storied history which set the program on its course to develop practical weed management options for growers. Much of the progress has been built on use of herbicides to control weeds in the wide diversity of California crops. Undoubtedly California growers have much better weed management options today than they did in 1940 or 1950 thanks to translocated herbicides like glyphosate which enable us to suppress the most difficult perennial weeds like field bindweed. Much of this progress in weed management is owed to the agrochemical industry which through private investment in weed management research, developed some very effective products. However, conditions are not static, and the...
- Author: Seth Watkins
- Author: Brad Hanson
Compared to some other tree crops, California olives have relatively few registered preemergence herbicide options. However, several recent label changes have increased these options and a few new herbicides are currently being tested and may be registered in the relatively near future.
Several new herbicides have been registered in other tree and vine and UC weed scientists have conducted several experiments with the support of the California Olive Commission, the USDA IR-4 Project, and the crop protection industry to evaluate their crop safety in olives. Although these herbicides are not currently registered in olive, early crop safety results have been mostly promising with penoxsulam (PindarGT), rimsulfuron (Matrix),...
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
Or rather, think about the weed seedbank, which is the reservoir of viable weed seeds held within the soil profile of an ecosystem. These seeds may be recent additions (e.g. seed that was produced on mother plants within the previous year) or else dormant seeds that have persisted in the soil environment across multiple seasons (e.g. seeds that have not germinated despite exposure to optimal environmental conditions). Whether we realize it or not, our ability to manage weeds in agricultural or horticultural settings can be significantly influenced by the density and diversity of the weeds seedbank. Numerous studies have demonstrated that as weed seed numbers increase, so do the numbers of weeds that survive management...
- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
You just KNOW that some plants are considered weeds. Their common names give them away. They sound awful. Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus). Devil's claw (Proboscidea lutea). Smellmelon (Cucumis melo). Itchgrass (Rottboellia cochinchinensis). Dog-strangling vine (Cyanthum rossicum).
Others...well, others seem more benign. Even sweet. For Valentine's day I present to you nine weedy plants with lovely names. Enjoy...
1. Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima). How celestial (Sigh...). How divine (Sigh...). How invasive (sigh...wait, what?). Tree-of-heaven is a deciduous tree, native...
