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Y Ranch squarrose knapweed control and pasture restoration
Author
Greenhalgh, LK
Caldwell, JR
Staples, BJ
Publisher
XII International Rangeland Congress
Publication Year
2025
Body

Almost half the total land area of the United States is used for pasture and grazing, and nearly all of it is infested with weeds (Monaco et al., 2002) Rangeland pastures worldwide are often invaded by various weed species (Vasques et al., 2010). These invasions cause significant biological (Christensen et al., 2011) and economic loss (Whitesides, 2004). In the Mountain West region of Utah, cheatgrass, knapweed, medusa head, and hoary cress are just a few of the numerous invaders. Even though weeds are a serious problem and are difficult to control, it is possible to manage weeds (Jones et al, 2010) and restore pasture health and productivity. We undertook a pasture renovation project in 2012 at the Y Ranch in Tooele County and Juab Count y, Utah in the Great Basin Region of the western United States. Invasive weeds, primarily knapweed, had degraded Y Ranch pastures. We aerially sprayed herbicide to kill weeds in a 728-hectare pasture then later fertilized the pasture; we did no seeding. Two years later AUMs had increased by 200. We wanted to measure forage production after ten years of livestock grazing to see how many AUMs were currently available twelve years after the renovation. A forage production sample taken in May 2024 showed 91 kg/ha. The primary forage species was Crested Wheatgrass, Agropyron cristatum. Although crested wheatgrass is an introduced species in the Great Basin, it has shown an ability to establish when and where other species struggle. This pasture currently provides 225 AUMs of grazing where before the treatment it provided virtually no AUMs.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Additional Information
This paper is part of the larger XII International Rangelands Congress Proceedings. Page Numbers: 1089-1092. Theme: Theme 4 / Poster presentations – Theme 4
ISSN
978-0-646-72121-7
Conference Name
International Rangeland Congress
Collection
International Rangelands Congress
Keywords
Crested wheatgrass
AUM
Grazing
Forage
Livestock