We have a good many new landowners out there that may be looking at a mesquite covered field and wondering how to clean it up. First off, DO NOT SHRED THE FIELD. Never shred mesquites or prickly pearyou will only elevate your issue and make it much harder to treat.
Mesquite is one of the most invasive and hardest to kill of all the brush species. While most everyone considers it a nuisance and a poorquality range plant, it does provide cover and some food for wildlife. Mesquite is actually a legume and has the capability of fixing its own nitrogen.
This ability to produce its own nitrogen and its drought tolerance helps mesquite to thrive in a wide variety of soils and climates. When left unmanaged, mesquite will dominate range land and crowd out quality forages leaving little grazing for livestock.
Fortunately, we do have some mesquite control methods that do provide good control at a reasonable cost. The most effective, but timeconsuming method would be the cut stump method.
Using this method, you would actually cut the mesquite and then spray the stump with a 25% remedy and 75% diesel mixture. You will need to spray the exposed stump within an hour or two of cutting it, before the stump heals over.
Another option is to spray the stems (Basal Treatment) from ground level to a height of 12” to 18” all the way around the stem. For stems that are 1.5” in diameter or less you would use a 15% remedy and 85% diesel mixture, for stems 1.5” to 4” in diameter a 25% remedy and 75% diesel mixture works best. For larger rough bark trees, you would also want to use a 25% remedy and 85% diesel mixture, but control will not be as good on the larger rough barked trees. Results may be a little better if the applications are applied during the growing season, but either of the above applications can be applied anytime of the year. Right now is a good time to do this treatment before everything greens-up and you do not have to worry about getting eat up by chiggers and ticks.
There are some excellent foliar treatments available, but soil temperatures and moisture need to be correct before attempting foliar mesquite treatments. Soil temperatures need to be 75 degrees down to about 12” for foliar treatments to be effective. Also, the mesquites do not need to be overly stressed by insects or drought conditions for foliar treatment to be most effective. For mesquites that are brushy, thick, mulit-stemmed and/or 8’ tall or less, a foliar application might be your best bet. We have a couple of options for mesquite foliage treatments: ■ Leaf applications with newest mesquite control product Sendero would include 1% concentration of Sendero, ¼% surfactant, ¼ to ½ % Hi-Lite or blue dye. The good news for those that do not have an applicator license is that Sendero is not a restricted use herbicide, so it can be purchased without the license.
■ The older remedy reclaim treatment would include ½% Reclaim, ½ % Remedy, ¼ % surfactant and ¼ to ½% Hi-Lite or blue dye. While Remedy is not a restricted use herbicide, Reclaim does require a private applicator license to purchase.
■ Invora is the newest and maybe the most effective foliar treatment now available for mesquite treatments. However, it does require an applicator license and special training to purchase and use. Regardless of which herbicide you choose to use, you will wet all foliage of each plant until the leaves are almost to the point of dripping. You can achieve a 76%100 % root kill with these methods. Whichever method you choose, be sure to follow all label directions and remember mesquite control is not a one-time control; you will need to be diligent in your scouting and control efforts to prevent sprouts from getting the upper hand. For more information and proper mixing rates come by the office and pick up the Brush Busters publication “How to Beat Mesquite.”