- Author: Valerie Eviner
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Valerie Eviner is a Professor of Ecosystem Management and Restoration in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis.
Yellow starthistle is a noxious weed common in many areas of California's grasslands, and is often a priority for control, due to its effects on decreased livestock carrying capacity, decreased plant diversity, and interference with recreational uses (reviewed in DiTomaso et al. 2006). A number of conventional herbicides are highly effective in controlling yellow starthistle (DiTomaso et al. 2006, USFS 2014), but in many settings, there is increased pressure to decrease use of conventional herbicides and find alternative control...
- Contact: Scott Oneto
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Here's UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Scott Oneto showing us how to control yellow starthistle with burning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szeuMYtNxdw
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
- Re-posted by: Gale Perez
From the ANR News Blog on Sept. 19, 2019
The USDA has announced it will allow the release of a weevil (Ceratapion basicorne) in the United States to help control yellow starthistle, an invasive weed found in 40 of the lower 48 states, reported Capital Public Radio. The weevils will initially be released in California.
Ceratapion basicorne is native to Eurasia, the same area where yellow starthistle originated. Yellow starthistle is thought to have been introduced into California from Chile during the Gold Rush. The weed readily took hold in California...
- Author: Joseph DiTomaso
In 1997-1998, the big El Nino year in California, yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) (YST) infestations throughout the state were probably the largest that I have seen in my time in California. Not only were the infestations the densest, but the size of the plants often exceeded six feet tall. The reason for this is that water uptake by the roots of YST in the Sacramento Valley and surrounding foothills is highest between March and June in both shallow and deep soils. In contrast, water uptake by annual grasses is highest earlier in the season and only in shallow soils. During the El Nino year of 1997-1998, there was plenty of available soil water long after grasses had completed their life cycle and the extensive...
- Author: Joseph DiTomaso
So far, this year is beginning to look like a strong El Nino weather pattern throughout much of California. The last time we had a very strong El Nino was the winter of 1997-1998. For those of you that remember back then, yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) infestations were enormous, both in terms of cover and height. For example, the attached photo was taken in Calaveras County in the summer of 1998, after the El Nino winter. In this case, yellow starthistle probably covered 80% or more of the area and was at least four feet tall, sometimes even six feet in height. The reason yellow starthistle does so well under these conditions is that high rainfall recharges the deep soil moisture, which is where yellow starthistle...