Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) is a costly noxious weed to manage and control. Leafy spurge invades rangelands and displaces native and desirable vegetation. The most common type of management for leafy spurge control is the use of herbicides. Herbicides can be costly, especially if applying to large areas. Our over-arching objective was to test the recommended full rate and half rate of selected herbicides applied in September following a spring burn on leafy spurge and its associated plant community. Specific study objectives were to 1) determine if a late spring burn followed by fall applied herbicide treatments will have a greater effect on controlling leafy spurge density using a half and full rate compared to unburned plots, and 2) determine if a late spring burn followed by fall applied herbicide treatments will impact the existing plant communities compared to unburned plots. We selected three herbicide treatments and treated the two study blocks (replicates) with the recommended rate and half the recommended rate following a spring burn. Quinclorac, aminocyclopyrachlor + chlorsulfuron, and picloram + imazapic + 2, 4-D were the three herbicide treatments using a nested randomized block design with a between factor (burning) and a within factor (herbicide and rate combination). The study was conducted on the Gilbert C. Grafton Military Training Base (South Unit) near McHenry, ND. Plant composition was determined by collecting graminoid species presence/absence using 0.1m2 every 2 m, and density of leafy spurge and other broad leaf forbs using a 0.25m2 plot every 2 m along a 20 m transect. Data is currently being analyzed.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.