Agricultural departments have designated certain problematic weeds 'noxious'. These weeds are particularly troublesome and control of them is very important. Drivers plying the highways in and around the Twin Cities might wonder about those yellow flowers in bloom in many of the ditches of those highways. They might be surprised to know that those flowers in the ditch are widely classed as noxious. They are leafy spurge. Spurge is not a problem in cultivated fields but a serious threat to productivity in grasslands. It is extremely difficult to eradicate.
Certain herbicides will control it, such as Tordon. Goats like to eat it so they are a form of control. Spurge is a non-native invasive species. There are beetles that feast on it. One method of control is to capture beetles where they are plentiful and release them where there is a heavy concentration of plants. This works where large populations of spurge exist. South Dakota ag interests announce beetle capturing events where participants use hand nets to capture the beetles. Volunteers then are allowed to keep some beetles for release on their infestations.
So why am I writing about leafy spurge? There are two established colonies in my grassland. Today I hand sprayed them with Tordon, which I did last year, and, and... The colonies aren't large, perhaps 500 square feet or so. The jury is out on who will be here the longest, me or the spurge!
Takk for alt,
Al
A beetle feasting on leafy spurge.
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