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ADVENTURE SPORTS OUTDOORS “THE VOICE OF THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN”
HERD HEALTH & NUTRITION Ruminant Nutritionists discuss deer-related issues Food Plot Strategy: Winning the Weed War After you put a lot of time and effort into establishing a food plot, watching the weeds creep in and take over a plot can be very frustrating. The battle for the life of your food plot is on. In fact, controlling weed competition can be more important for the longevity of the food plot than fertilizer application. A weed is simply defined as any plant growing in the wrong spot that competes for moisture and nutrients from the desired plants. In a food plot, a variety of plants will try and compete for the nutrients that you applied carefully to sustain your plants. Identification... In any battle, it’s important to know the enemy. If you are planning on establishing a plot in an area or are trying to reestablish a failed plot-uproot the predominant weeds for identification. Some weeds are tougher to kill than others and will require different strategies to do so. For example, weeds such as some ferns propagate by extensive underground root systems. These underground root systems may extend several feet from the above ground plant. Due to this unusual root formation, herbicides such as Round-Up may only weaken the plant-not kill it. There are many sources of information to identify your plants. You can take them to your local county agricultural extension office for identification. There are several good pictured books available at your local library in the agricultural section. Online services are also available for weed identification. Herbicides... Unfortunately, because of the many different types of plants we actually want to grow in our food plots, finding an herbicide that will kill the weeds and leave the desired plants alone is difficult-if not impossible. Some post emergence herbicides exist that will help control weeds but may also weaken the food plot plants. The best herbicide for weed control for food plots is Round-Up. RoundUp is a systemic herbicide meaning that it does not discriminate among plantsit will try to kill all of them. Round-Up should be applied before you plant your
May 2004
food plot, to kill the established weeds. Round-Up needs to be applied on green plants, the application is absorped by the leaves and will eventually kill the roots. Working this way has a distinct advantage-there is no residue in the soil. After about 7-10 days (3-5 with Round-Up Ultra) the weeds will be brown and dead and the soil is ready for preparation for your food plot. Planting a companion crop... Many food plot seed preparations come already blended with a companion crop. Companion or cover crops are extremely hardy plants that will compete aggressively with the weeds and not the desired plants. Companion crops can do this because they “match” or “pair up” with the desired crop’s traits. For example, some companion crops grow very thickly in the spaces not occupied by the budding desired crops. While they grow thickly to crowd out the weeds, the companion crop will usually have a shallow root system or a vertical root system that doesn’t compete with the desired perennial crop’s spreading root system. Mixing a companion crop with the desired seed can be tricky. Too much of the companion crop and it becomes a weed, competing with the desired crop. The wrong companion crop will also act like a fast growing weed. For best results, purchase a food plot seed blend with the companion crop already blended in the mix. Mowing, clipping,etc.... After you’ve applied Round-Up and planted, the battle may not be over. Some weeds are late germinating plants, which means they sprout at a later date than your food plot blends. Sprouting later means that the weeds were not green when Round-Up was supplied, so the herbicide had no effect. Weeds such as foxtail grasses are late germinating, extremely aggressive and will crowd out the existing plants in the food plots. Other weeds have such extensive root systems that they will creep underground from the edges of your food plot until they are established there. The main means of control is to weaken the enemy so that the desired plants can compete more aggressively. Clipping or mowing plants such as foxtail after they germinate, (usually in June) will weaken these aggressive weeds in their early stages of development. This allows the food plot plants to “take over” the food plot. Food plot seed usually consists of perennials that respond very well to clipping or mowing-in fact it can actually strengthen the plants in some cases. In fact, clipping or mowing periodically will weaken aggressive weeds, prevent weed seed heads forming and will stimulate vegetative growth from the desired plants. In any battle, vigilance is a key to success. Identifying your weed problem, planning and implementing the correct action will improve the life and productivity of your food plot.
Jim or Carmen, ruminant nutritionists at Hard Hunter\Monson Consulting, 1562 160th St Centuria WI 54824 1-800-700-9334 • www.hardhunter.com New & Used Guns
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