Late summer and fall can be an excellent time to treat unwanted stands of woody plants. Scattered stands of individual trees should either be treated individually using the basal bark method (for labeled plants less than 4-6 inches in diameter) or the cut stump treatment method. The basal bark and cut stump treatments will not be effective if the plants cannot be treated down to the soil line. Avoid conditions where water (or snow later in the season) prevents spraying to the ground line.
Producers can treat smaller diameter susceptible woody plants individually this fall by spraying the basal stem parts with triclopyr plus diesel fuel. The lower 12-15 inches of the stems or trunks of susceptible small trees should be thoroughly wetted on all sides with a triclopyr-diesel mixture. Triclopyr goes by the tradenames Remedy Ultra and Pathfinder II. Remedy Ultra is a 4 lb/gallon product.
The labeled recommendations for Remedy Ultra are 20-30% solution in diesel. Pathfinder II is a ready-to-use product and does not have to be mixed with diesel. PastureGard HL is a premix of triclopyr and fluroxypyr, and can be applied as a basal bark or cut-stump treatment as a 25% solution in diesel. Crossbow, a mixture of triclopyr and 2,4-D, can also provide control of certain woody plants as a 4% solution in diesel. Milestone, with the active ingredient aminopyralid, is effective on black and common honeylocust. Mix Milestone 5% v/v with a compatible basal oil.
If the woody plant is greater than 6 inches in diameter, the best method is to cut it off at ground level and treat the cut surface with triclopyr and diesel fuel within 30-60 minutes, before the sap seals over the exposed area. Spray the cambium and light-colored sapwood to insure translocation of the herbicide. Treat any exposed trunk or exposed roots.
The stump of ash, cottonwood, elm, oaks, persimmon, and Russian olive can be treated with a 1:1 ratio of dicamba (Banvel, Clarity) in water instead of triclopyr if desired. The stumps of Eastern red cedar do not need to be treated since, unlike many woody brush plants, this species does not root sprout. Simply cutting Eastern red cedar below the lowest green branch will kill it. Common trees in Kansas that resprout after cutting include ash, cottonwood, elm, oaks, osage orange (hedge), persimmon, black and common honey locust, saltcedar, and Russian olive. In sprouting species, new shoots arise from dormant buds at or below the ground often resulting in a multi-stemmed clump.
Table 1. Cut-Stump Herbicides
|
Herbicide |
Active ingredients per gallon |
Rate |
|
Crossbow1 |
2 lb 2,4-D + 1 lb triclopyr |
4% in diesel |
|
Remedy Ultra |
4 lb triclopyr |
20-30% in diesel |
|
Pathfinder II |
0.75 lb triclopyr |
Ready to use |
|
PastureGard HL |
3 lb triclopyr + 1 lb fluroxypyr |
25% in diesel |
|
Milestone |
2 lb aminopyralid |
10% in water |
|
Banvel/Clarity |
4 lb dicamba |
25-50% in water |
|
Roundup PowerMax |
5.5 lb glyphosate |
50-100% in water |
|
Arsenal |
2 lb imazapyr |
10% in water |
1 Trade names are used to help identify herbicides. No endorsement is intended, nor is any criticism implied of similar products not mentioned.
Common honeylocust can resprout from a wide diameter area around the main plant because of root suckers. One option is to make a basal bark treatment with triclopyr-containing products to kill the entire plant in the fall. Then the main plant can be cut down in subsequent years once the tree is dead. Cut-stump applications of Milestone as a 10% solution in water has been effective on common honeylocust.
Table 2. Cut-Stump Treatments
|
Species |
Herbicides |
|
Ash |
1,3,6,8 |
|
Common honeylocust |
2,3,4,5,6 |
|
Cottonwood |
1,2,3,6 |
|
Elm |
1,2,3,4,6,8 |
|
Oaks |
2,3,4,6,7,8 |
|
Osage orange (hedge) |
2,3,4 |
|
Persimmon |
2,3,4,6,8 |
|
Russian olive |
1,3,6,8 |
|
Salt cedar |
2,3,4,7,8 |
Tordon RTU and Pathway can be used on cut surfaces in noncropland areas such as fence rows, roadsides, and rights-of-way. However, Tordon RTU, and Pathway are not labeled for use on range and pasture.
Application equipment for cut-stump application includes pressurized hand sprayers, small backpack sprayers, sprayer mounted on ATV with handheld gun, hydraulic tree shears or saws, or even a paint brush. Two of the more common pieces of equipment for cutting the woody plants are the turbo saw and the hydra clip.
Although exposure to animals is reduced by basal and cut-stump treatments, grazing and haying restrictions still need to be followed. There are no grazing restrictions before grazing with any of the herbicides discussed. Check labels for restrictions for use prior to hay harvesting, removal of animals before slaughter, and for use around lactating dairy animals.
Application tips for using cut-stump treatments:
Walt Fick, Rangeland Management Specialist
whfick@ksu.edu
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