Yellow Starthistle Information
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the Management section
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Mech control
-hand
-tillage
-mowing
Cultural control
-grazing
-burning
-re-vegetation
Biocontrol
-insects
-biocontrol table
-plant pathogens
Chem control
- risks
--spray
--water
--toxicology
--herbicide
resist
--effects
-herbicides
--preemergence
--postemergence
--late season
--pre- & post-
--imazapic
--clopyralid
--picloram
Management
The goal of any management plan should be not only controlling the noxious weed, but also improving the degraded community, enhancing the utility of that ecosystem, and preventing reinvasion or invasion by other noxious weed species. To accomplish this usually requires a long-term integrated management plan. A number of considerations can influence the choice of options; most important being the desired land-use objective. This can include forage production, preservation of native or endangered plant species, wildlife habitat development, or recreational land maintenance. Selection of the proper management tool(s) and program also depend on other factors including weed species and associated vegetation, initial density of yellow starthistle infestation, effectiveness of the control techniques, years necessary to achieve control, environmental considerations, chemical use restrictions, topography, climatic conditions, and relative cost of the control techniques.
Before 1987 there were few options for the control of yellow starthistle, and long-term sustainable management plans had not yet been developed. However, considerable progress has been made in the past decade. Currently, there are a number of control options available for the management of yellow starthistle, including grazing, mowing, manual removal, clover or perennial grass reseeding, burning, chemical, and biological control.
Recent emphasis has been on the development of integrated systems for the long-term sustainable management of yellow starthistle. Such systems include various combinations of a number of these newly developed techniques. In many cases, three or more years of intensive management may be necessary to significantly reduce a yellow starthistle population. Although uncommon, it is possible to substantially reduce the infestation with one year of control. However, it is believed that a more established starthistle population, with a large residual seedbank, will require a longer-term management program (DiTomaso 2000).
When developing a yellow starthistle management program is to important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and to judge how each option may best fit into a long-term program. It is possible that several different strategies can prove successful in a given location. The consistent components of a successful program should include persistence, flexibility, and, most importantly, preventing new seed recruitment (DiTomaso et al. 2000d). Click here for a summary of the advantages, disadvantages, risks, timing and fit into a strategic plan for each control option.
