Equisetum control

Rodger Whitlock totototo@mail.pacificcoast.net
Thu, 07 Aug 2003 04:45:08 PDT
On  3 Aug 03 at 21:28, Roy Sachs wrote:

> Has anyone out there had experience controlling horsetails with
> herbicides?
> 
> The more I pull them up the more that rhizome growth is stimulated
> rhizome or something wild is happening since the area of infestation
> has expanded at least 5-fold in five years.


The herbicide MCPA will control horsetail. I do not know if it is 
still available.

By control, I mean about 95% kill. Treat once, wait long enough for 
surviving rhizomes to re-shoot, then treat a second time. The 
infestation should then be sparse enough for *digging* of remaining 
lively rhizomes to be effective, but you still face several years' 
vigilance.

Note that horsetail has paired tubers at intervals along the 
rhizomes. It is definitely a survivor!

MCPA is not a selective herbicide, so the ground must be fallow to 
use it on horsetail, or contain only weeds.


-- 
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
"To co-work is human,
to cow-ork, bovine."


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