Ragweed
We have been very fortunate to receive some excellent moisture.
The rainfall has made an incredible difference to our pastures and hay meadows and is really making the grass start to take off.
However, it appears our weeds have a jump on our perineal grass this year. One weed that I am seeing really take off this year is the dreaded Ragweed.
There are several types of ragweed that can be found in Texas.
The most common here in Comanche County and surrounding areas include Western Ragweed, Common Ragweed, and Giant Ragweed. Ragweed is one of the most common forbs on our rangeland. In deep soil, its roots will reach a depth of 5 to 6 feet, making it extremely competitive with most of our grasses. For this reason, most cattlemen have a strong disliking for ragweed.
Quail hunters on the other hand may have a soft spot for ragweed, as the seeds are a great Quail food.
If you are an allergy sufferer, you should have a strong disliking for ragweed. Most all fall allergies can be traced to ragweed as a single ragweed plant can produce up to a billion pollen grains.
Ragweed is a perennial and can produce new growth from roots. This year’s seedlings will not produce seed until next year. Ragweed is an early germinator; this early germination allows it to get a jump on grasses and decreases the chance for the grass to shade out the ragweed.
Like most weeds, ragweed really comes on strong in over grazed areas where there is little competition from grasses.
These overgrazed areas are where you will usually find Western and Common Ragweed. Giant ragweed loves to grow in cattle lots or other areas where you have feed livestock and the soil is rich in nutrients.
Giant ragweed really is a giant; it can grow 10 to 12‘tall and it has a very rapid growth rate. All ragweed can be controlled effectively with herbicides, but timing is very important. There is a myriad of herbicides that work well on ragweed, here are a few: ■ Milestone
■ GrazonNext
■ ForeFront
■ Cimmarron Max
■ Grazon P+D
■ Range Star
■ 2,4-D amine Control results can be excellent, exceeding 90% control for each herbicide. The kicker is the average size of the ragweed at the treatment site needs to be 6” or less. Ragweed is up early this year, and it is outgrowing Bermudagrass. Now is the time to scout and perhaps start spraying for ragweed.
Most I have seen is in that 2 to 4” size, and it will not take long for it to reach the 6” height which is the point that herbicides become less effective at controlling the weed.
Get out and look at your fields! If you have a lot of ragweed you may want to go ahead and spray it.