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Herbicidal control of deathcamas (Zigadenus paniculatus)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2020

Clinton A. Stonecipher*
Affiliation:
Rangeland Scientist, Toxicologist, and Chemist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory, Logan, UT, USA
Corey Ransom
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Plant, Soils, and Climate Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
Eric Thacker
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Wildland Resources Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
Kevin Welch
Affiliation:
Rangeland Scientist, Toxicologist, and Chemist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory, Logan, UT, USA
Dale R. Gardner
Affiliation:
Rangeland Scientist, Toxicologist, and Chemist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory, Logan, UT, USA
Matt Palmer
Affiliation:
Extension Associate Professor, Extension, Utah State University, Ephraim, UT, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Clint Stonecipher, Rangeland Scientist, USDA-Agricultural Research Service Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory, 1150 East 1400 North, Logan, UT84341. Email: clint.stonecipher@usda.gov

Abstract

Foothill deathcamas is a bulbous, perennial, native forb found throughout the western United States. Deathcamas begins growth early in the spring. The lack of alternative forages at this time can result in livestock becoming poisoned from the consumption of deathcamas. Research on herbicides for deathcamas control is limited to work from the 1950s and 1960s that identified 2,4-D as a control agent. The objective of this study was to evaluate alternative herbicide options for deathcamas control that include 2,4-D, 2,4-D + triclopyr, quinclorac, aminopyralid, imazapic, and chlorsulfuron. We also investigated the impact of plant growth stage on deathcamas control by making herbicide applications at two growth stages. One set of plots was treated with herbicides when deathcamas was in the early vegetative stage and the second set was treated at flowering. There is some evidence that stress might affect alkaloid content; therefore, we monitored alkaloid content of treated and nontreated deathcamas. Plots were established at Mt. Sterling, UT, and Mt. Pleasant, UT. Deathcamas density was reduced in 2,4-D, 2,4-D + triclopyr, and imazapic treatments 1 and 2 yr after herbicide application (P < 0.0001). Compared with the pretreatment densities, deathcamas densities(± standard error of the mean) 2 yr after herbicide application were reduced 96% ± 1.4%, 100% ± 0%, and 98% ± 0.9% for 2,4-D, 2,4-D + triclopyr, and imazapic, respectively, at the Mt. Sterling site. At the Mt. Pleasant site, deathcamas density was reduced by 84% ± 2.8% with 2,4-D alone, whereas 2,4-D + triclopyr and imazapic provided similar density reductions as observed at the Mt. Sterling site. Steroidal alkaloid concentrations did not change in herbicide-treated deathcamas at either stage of plant growth. These data indicate that 2,4-D, 2,4-D + triclopyr, and imazapic can effectively control deathcamas in the vegetative and flowering growth stages.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States

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Footnotes

Associate Editor: Michael Walsh, University of Sydney

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