Proposed Management & Monitoring For Russian Knapweed
-This management plan entails pastures and farmland in La Plata County being continuously monitored for outbreaks of noxious weeds.
- This will be done by farmers and ranchers with land that is susceptible to infection of this weed.
- The intention of this monitoring is not to prevent, but at least attempt to manage this invader so it isn’t as common.
-This will be done wherever there is open, usually cultivated land that can be a vulnerable home for weeds such as this.
b. Benefits
- What makes this a good plan is that it is realistic and has the potential to be an affective plan for the moment. Although it’s not a long term plan, it will have to do for now, and it does keep the weed population under control for that area.
c. Cons
- Something that may interfere with this plan is that if the weeds are not managed continuously, they could continue to get out of hand and become more difficult to control in further down the road.
2. How to Manage Once Established
a. Details
- This plan entails using herbicides such as Milestone, Roundup, Tordon, 22K, Curtail, or Telar to knock out this weed. (Russian, 2008) Another plan is to use insects such as Gall flies, (Urophora affinis and Urophora quadrifasciata), Sulphur knapweed moths (Agapeta zoegana), and the Green clearwing fly (Terellia virens) to manage pre-established weeds (BEST, 2004).
- The ones to do this will probably be the Colorado Department of Agriculture Conservation Services (Russian, 2008).
- The aim of this method is that the insects should be able to control the plant by attacking the seeds, plant, or roots. Same goes for the herbicides; they attack the plant and eventually kill it.
- This will be done all over the west. Primarily Colorado.
b. Benefits
- The benefits of these methods are that they aimed towards pre-existing plants and are expected to actually work.
c. Cons
- That these methods may not be as long term as they should be. Or that these methods may not last as long as expected.
3. Managing For the Long Term
a. Details
- For long term management, plant competitive plant species such as cool-season perennial grasses to occupy open ground once infested by the knapweed. Another method that can be used is Sheep, (particularly dry ewes), and all classes of goats. They can remove up to 80% biomass of weeds (Russian, 2006).
- Any landowners who have the problem will most likely be the ones to set the animals up to control their land because the weeds are a nuisance because they can get in the way of grazing and farming the land.
- These methods aim to control large areas that may be long term homes for the weeds.
- This can be done wherever the weeds are an issue in pastures or any other open, infected land.
b. Benefits
- These methods can control large, open areas of land such as pastures, fields, and grazing areas.
c. Cons
- The downside of this plan is that it could possibly backfire and the competitive plants couldn’t do their job, or just not survive the climate in some areas as well as the noxious weeds might.
Bibliography
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1191397773014&ssbinary=true
http://extension.usu.edu/weedweb/ecology/Ruskn_ec.htm
http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/nr/2004/FS0437.pdf
http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/rx-grazing/Forbs/Russian_Knapweed.htm
http://msdssearch.dow.com/PublishedLiteratureDAS/dh_02b1/0901b803802b10fc.pdf?filepath=range/pdfs/noreg/010-56950.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc
- Continuous Monitoring In Open Land
-This management plan entails pastures and farmland in La Plata County being continuously monitored for outbreaks of noxious weeds.
- This will be done by farmers and ranchers with land that is susceptible to infection of this weed.
- The intention of this monitoring is not to prevent, but at least attempt to manage this invader so it isn’t as common.
-This will be done wherever there is open, usually cultivated land that can be a vulnerable home for weeds such as this.
b. Benefits
- What makes this a good plan is that it is realistic and has the potential to be an affective plan for the moment. Although it’s not a long term plan, it will have to do for now, and it does keep the weed population under control for that area.
c. Cons
- Something that may interfere with this plan is that if the weeds are not managed continuously, they could continue to get out of hand and become more difficult to control in further down the road.
2. How to Manage Once Established
a. Details
- This plan entails using herbicides such as Milestone, Roundup, Tordon, 22K, Curtail, or Telar to knock out this weed. (Russian, 2008) Another plan is to use insects such as Gall flies, (Urophora affinis and Urophora quadrifasciata), Sulphur knapweed moths (Agapeta zoegana), and the Green clearwing fly (Terellia virens) to manage pre-established weeds (BEST, 2004).
- The ones to do this will probably be the Colorado Department of Agriculture Conservation Services (Russian, 2008).
- The aim of this method is that the insects should be able to control the plant by attacking the seeds, plant, or roots. Same goes for the herbicides; they attack the plant and eventually kill it.
- This will be done all over the west. Primarily Colorado.
b. Benefits
- The benefits of these methods are that they aimed towards pre-existing plants and are expected to actually work.
c. Cons
- That these methods may not be as long term as they should be. Or that these methods may not last as long as expected.
3. Managing For the Long Term
a. Details
- For long term management, plant competitive plant species such as cool-season perennial grasses to occupy open ground once infested by the knapweed. Another method that can be used is Sheep, (particularly dry ewes), and all classes of goats. They can remove up to 80% biomass of weeds (Russian, 2006).
- Any landowners who have the problem will most likely be the ones to set the animals up to control their land because the weeds are a nuisance because they can get in the way of grazing and farming the land.
- These methods aim to control large areas that may be long term homes for the weeds.
- This can be done wherever the weeds are an issue in pastures or any other open, infected land.
b. Benefits
- These methods can control large, open areas of land such as pastures, fields, and grazing areas.
c. Cons
- The downside of this plan is that it could possibly backfire and the competitive plants couldn’t do their job, or just not survive the climate in some areas as well as the noxious weeds might.
Bibliography
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1191397773014&ssbinary=true
http://extension.usu.edu/weedweb/ecology/Ruskn_ec.htm
http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/nr/2004/FS0437.pdf
http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/rx-grazing/Forbs/Russian_Knapweed.htm
http://msdssearch.dow.com/PublishedLiteratureDAS/dh_02b1/0901b803802b10fc.pdf?filepath=range/pdfs/noreg/010-56950.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc