Fall is a good time for rangeland assessment and management
Brian Rees
Saturday, October 20, 2007
For many crop producers in Lyon County and the surrounding areas, fall harvest is completed or hopefully getting close to completion. Corn yields have been mostly at or above average, while many soybean yields have been well below average. When we are at the mercy of Mother Nature, we are often fortunate to get close to an average yield. The soybean crop in this area was hit extremely hard by the dry weather and hot temperatures we experienced in August and September.
Much of the wheat crop is in the ground at this time. The rainfall of the past week has been extremely beneficial for those that have their wheat planted, as it is growing rapidly and taking advantage of the moisture, warm soil and warm afternoon temperatures. I am aware of at least one situation in Lyon County where fall armyworms did some major, rapid damage to a young wheat field. I encourage all producers to be aware of potential wheat problems and watch your fields for issues. If you see something that doesn’t look right in your field, give me a shout and we can take a look.
Fall is also a good time to assess the status of your range and pasture land. If you have encroaching stands of woody plants in areas that have the potential for desirable forage production, spot treatments can be a great asset before the areas become unmanageable.
According to Walt Fick, Rangeland Management Specialist with Kansas State University, scattered stands of individual trees or shrubs 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 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 to 15 inches of the stems or trunks of susceptible small trees and shrubs should be thoroughly wetted with a triclopyr-diesel mixture. Product recommendations and treatment rates are available from the Lyon County Extension Office, and vary with the target species.
Common honey locust can resprout from a wide diameter area around the main plant because of root suckers, so the best recommendation is a basal bark treatment to kill the entire plant in the fall. The tree can be cut down in subsequent years once it is dead.
If the woody plant is greater than six inches in diameter, the best method is to cut it off at ground level and treat the cut surface and sides of the stump with triclopyr and diesel fuel within 30-60 minutes, before the sap seals over the exposed area. The stump of cottonwood, elm, and oak species can be treated with a 1:1 ratio of dicamba (Banvel, Clarity) in water instead of triclopyr if desired.
A couple of important reminders: the stumps of Eastern red cedar do not need to be treated since they do not root sprout. Simply cutting Eastern red cedar below the lowest green branch will kill it. 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.
F More information on these and other topics is available by contacting Brian Rees, Lyon County Extension Agriculture Agent, at 620-341-3220 or brees@ksu.edu.