Equisetum control
Rodger Whitlock (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."