OCR Text |
Show By Bob Murdock 2,,4-D CONTROLS SAGEBRUSH Chemical spray for control of sagebrush on western ranges has proved an effective partner to established cultural and grazing management practices in U. S. Department of Agriculture experiment. experi-ment. The organic herbicide 2,4-D is recommended for controlling this unpalatable plant, .which covers millions of acres in the West. In 10 years of large-scale tests on range lands in the Lassen and Modoc National Forests of Northern North-ern California; 2,4-D not only proved nearly 100 percent effective effec-tive against the major species of western sagebrush, but was low enough in cost to" be of practical use to farmer and ranchers as a supplementary control method. USDA range conservationists, Donald' R. Cornelius and Charles L. Graham, .who carried .on the experiments, found that 2-4-D cannot always compete with plowing plow-ing and burning, costwise, as a method of sagebrush control. However, How-ever, spraying this chemical does serve an important range-improving function on lands that are too thin to burn. When such difficult dif-ficult areas are chemically freed sagebrush, native or sown grasses can be established, thus increasing increas-ing the livestock-carrying capacity of the land and providing protection protec-tion against soil erosion. . The butyl-ester form of 2,4-D acid was particularity outstanding in both effectiveness and economy. econ-omy. However, butyl-ester 2,4-D is highly volatile and' should not be used in areas where, because of drift, the chemical might cause damage to nearby crops. In such situations, the scientists recommend recom-mend the use of either of two low-volatility ester forms of 2,4-D 2,4-D butoxy ethanol or propylene glycol butyl. |