Rangeland Ecology & Management

Get reliable science

Herbicidal control of pricklypear cactus in western Texas
Author
Petersen, J. L.
Ueckert, D. N.
Potter, R. L.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1988-07-01
Body

The recommended practice for pricklypear (Opuntia spp.) control in western Texas has been aerial spraying with a 1:1 mixture of 2,4,5-T [(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] and picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinecarboxylic acid) at 0.56 kg/ha in late spring-early summer. This practice did not consistently control pricklypear. Experiments were conducted at 2 locations to determine if efficacy of the herbicide mixture could be improved by increasing the rate or by spraying at night. The herbicide mixture was applied at 0.56 and 1.12 kg/ha to dense pricklypear stands in morning and near midnight in December, June, August, and October. The high rate killed more Lindheimer pricklypear (O. lindheimeri) and Edwards pricklypear (O. edwardsii) growing on clay loam soils compared to the low rate during most seasons. The higher rate did not increase control of hybrid pricklypear growing on clay soils sufficiently to justify the added treatment cost or to satisfy the management objectives of most ranchers. Night treatments killed significantly more pricklypear than daytime treatments only during late spring-early summer. The pricklypear species and hybrids were most susceptible to herbicide applications in late summer and early autumn and least susceptible to those in late spring-early summer. The efficacy of early winter treatments was intermediate. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/3899386
Additional Information
Petersen, J. L., Ueckert, D. N., & Potter, R. L. (1988). Herbicidal control of pricklypear cactus in western Texas. Journal of Range Management, 41(4), 313-316.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/645191
Journal Volume
41
Journal Number
4
Journal Pages
313-316
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
physiology
anatomy and morphology
broadcast spraying
spraying
seasons
Opuntia
application timing
herbicides
weed control
Texas
rangelands