I have dealt with grass burs in our yard and pastures for the 15+ yrs we have had our place. The volume of burs seemed level, new outbreaks replaced areas with now reduced numbers....until this year! The spring numbers were sorta "normal", this fall (recent rains) the numbers exploded.
I have used Pastora a time or two, moderate success (pricey, VERY limited window of application).
At our family ranch, the bur numbers seem cyclical, with no treatment. Sometimes grazing may help reduce the numbers. I graze my home place, have for years, but this year the bur numbers...wow.

A new product (pre-emergent) just hit the market, bit it looks to be $30+/acre product cost.

Anyone else see fall numbers of burs above average?

$30+/acre for a fall/early spring applied pre emergent herbicide to control grass burs?

What is it providing not already on the market?

Prowl H2O is cheaper, effective, and targeting the same weed spectrum.

Imazapic also does the same.

The best weed control for Bermuda hay/pastures is a fall/early spring application of glyphosate during dormancy.

The absolute best way to control burs is to grow thicker/better grass. Cut down on the grazing and up your inputs and you will see the burs get out competed.

https://www.noble.org/globalassets/docs/ag/pubs/soils/nf-so-11-05.pdf

The hype for the Rezilon is both pre-emergent control of a broad spectrum of weeds, and the length of time it stays active in the soil. Time will tell if it delivers...

Glyphosate seems to seldom (never) be an option on our pastures (for grassburs), as the Bermuda is already out of dormancy when the bur plants start to emerge..

One of the puzzling things this year, is a lot of the abundant burs are in incredibly thick stands of common and Jiggs Bermuda...maybe some sort of moisture/temperature combo hit just right (or wrong, as the case may be).

I'd recommend Prowl H2O like the previous poster also said. Cheaper and it works well

Prowl will handle them and WAY cheaper with generics on the market now.

About this time last year I sprayed a couple cheaper mixes on a large ranch targeting burr specifically. 100 ac was done at 2 qts/ac of dicamba, and 100 ac was done with 1 qt/ac of 41% glyphosate and 1 qt/ac of dicamba. This summer they sent me a picture of the pasture, and there was a definitive line where I started with the glyphosate mix and got almost total control of the burr.

Anyone had any luck just burning them out?

Get a herd of goats, a cougar and an apex predator like Giddings. When they are all done, you will have burrs, goats, cougars and Giddings but there will at least 10 choice OB posts.

fightingfarmer09 said:

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$30+/acre for a fall/early spring applied pre emergent herbicide to control grass burs?

What is it providing not already on the market?

Prowl H2O is cheaper, effective, and targeting the same weed spectrum.

Imazapic also does the same.

The best weed control for Bermuda hay/pastures is a fall/early spring application of glyphosate during dormancy.

The absolute best way to control burs is to grow thicker/better grass. Cut down on the grazing and up your inputs and you will see the burs get out competed.

https://www.noble.org/globalassets/docs/ag/pubs/soils/nf-so-11-05.pdf

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Preach it, brother! Grass burrs love disturbance and bare ground. I always loved the looks I'd get when I'd tell a producer to "fertilize them to death". They are a weak competitor in established perennial grass systems.

rich1 said:

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Anyone had any luck just burning them out?

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They do tend to emerge early, and I've seen a late winter controlled burn do them damage.

Spend an extra $30/acre in nitrogen instead

Ag chem guy here

Prowl has to have everything work correctly for it to be effective
Have to get it out ahead of germination, need to catch a 1" rain on it to get it activated and into soil. Can't lay out there past about 2 weeks without a rain or it will lose efficacy. Prowl is a shoot inhibitor. Plus most people try to skimp on rates. Label is 2.1-4.2 quarts/acre. Yes there are some generics, like satellite, but they are not as easy to apply and I have had problems with it stopping up tips and screens more often.

Rezilon is new to pasture but not a new chemistry. It has been used for years in other markets. Esplanade Is other name. Rezilon can lay out there without a rain for a long time and won't play out. It is a low use rate, 3 oz/ac. So you can put it out there early and know you'll catch the germination of the weeds with a rain. It will last a long time and a lot longer than prowl. It has a lot of efficacy on grasses and weeds and should keep stuff clean for multiple months. Prowl you'll get a month of lucky. Depending on rainfall.

Yes fertility is extremely important on weed mgmt. these products are priced for the commercial hay producer who wants top notch quality
Not for the avg cow pasture guy. Just the way the marketing guys have it.
Use prowl a bunch in row crop, but generally use 1 quart and not 2.1

Prowl / Grassburs

45 days before allowing grazing, 60 days before cutting for hay, ...Prowl H2O control does come with some caveats.

I've gone to the CEU classes, studied control of the bastages, tried not to go broke in herbicide application, and certainly agree improving the pasture / reducing grazing is also a plus...but often easier said than done.
At one class, every angle was discussed...the last question was "how long does grassbur seed remain viable?" "Oh, just seven years or so...". I have seen the years where progress was made, then a year like 2020 (should have expected it..) has beyond a bumper crop (spring and fall, mainly fall).

Not an Ag guy, but this active has been available in turf (specticle) for a while and the control is far better than any other active out there on our side of the business

Does anything eat them before they develop the burs?

MSMA

WestTexasAg said:

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MSMA

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Absolutely not

Feel your pain GSS. I have been putting Prowl out for the past 4 years with limited effectiveness but this past 3 weeks was awful. The cooler temps and the 5" plus of rain sent the stickers into overdrive and I have about 5 acres of solid stickers.

I am at a loss on how to handle these things. I keep putting Prowl out according to directions, soil temp, before a rain, etc. and it doesn't seem to do anything. My land is near the Brazos River so peak soil conditions for sand burrs but I don't know how to get rid of them.

The pastures have no grasses so I know I need to get coastal or some other type of bermuda to grow and start providing competition to the grass bur to choke it out and hopefully as the one poster said fertilize them out of existence with a thick pasture. When do I put out grass seed for common bermuda or when do I need to sprig? I was told I cant put prowl out on newly planted fields. I was told I shouldn't turn over the ground and throw out grass seed because when you turn the soil over you can really activate the stickers. I am not trying to cut the hay for sale or trying to graze it, I am simply needing to kill out the sand burs and get some type of grass to grow so I can start to have decent pasturees. Any ideas or thoughts?

I have burs on rangeland rather than on an improved pasture. The Prowl documentation and label states that the use of Prowl on rangeland is prohibited. So, I'm thinking of using a post emergent mixture of Pastora and glyphosate for rangeland use. Any thoughts?

Worst Ive seen them in years. Terrible. Pastures are covered with them in places.

Chupacabra44 said:

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I have burs on rangeland rather than on an improved pasture. The Prowl documentation and label states that the use of Prowl on rangeland is prohibited. So, I'm thinking of using a post emergent mixture of Pastora and glyphosate for rangeland use. Any thoughts?

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How fast will your rangeland bounce out of a 20 day stall from glyphosate?

If you cannot get the grass thick enough, nothing will work.

As for using Prowl multiple years and getting poor results, you have to remember this is a system, not a solution.

Every 4 years or so, you should really consider a "reset" shot of glyphosate. Pastora work even better tank mixed with a low dose of glyphosate in the tank.

Just had a cutting of Hay, including the sand burs.

I know its not ideal timing but do you think a dose of Roundup would work on them now? given temps and potentially less active growing?

Wait for the spring. It's an annual, so you have missed the main control window.

Glyphosate during dormancy, or reduced rate following first cut.

Tex Aggie speaks truth. Rezilon is a completely different animal than Prowl/ Prowl H2O. Whereas Prowl may give you a month, Rezilon will give you months of residual control on not just sandburs, but a whole host of other grass and broadleaf weed problems. Put it out early, before you even think about seeing them emerge. But in the words of fmr Texas Aggie extension weed scientist Paul B. "you gotta want the control." Its not for the normal cattle rancher that is grazing grass and wanting to get rid of his goatweed problem, They're targeting the higher end hay market.

I've been using this chemistry for several years in other markets and have seen firsthand what it looks like when applied at the right time. And I've used a bunch of Prowl as well. Prowl is to Rezilon as Ford Ranger is to King Ranch F250.

You have other post -emerge options aforementioned, with the best advice being improve your soil fertility. Let the good grass outcompete the poor. Plateau is a good option; Pastora is okay; glyphosate is good too.

CenterHillAg said:

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About this time last year I sprayed a couple cheaper mixes on a large ranch targeting burr specifically. 100 ac was done at 2 qts/ac of dicamba, and 100 ac was done with 1 qt/ac of 41% glyphosate and 1 qt/ac of dicamba. This summer they sent me a picture of the pasture, and there was a definitive line where I started with the glyphosate mix and got almost total control of the burr.

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I was working next to this pasture today. The glyphosate + dicamba mix is on the left side. 16 months after treatment.

I found this forum today. This topic is 3 years old I'm wondering if anyone has any comments regarding pre and post immergent treatments. Thanks

I hate them so much. We are overrun with them.

Following as well

https://www.us.envu.com/vegetation-management/range-and-pasture/portfolios-and-solutions/rezilon/sandbur-solutions

rezilon has been the best thing for our bermuda hay field.