Canada thistle control with different herbicide treatment in a non-crop location
(Research Report, Hettinger REC, November 2023)A trial to evaluate Canada thistle control using various herbicides and herbicide combinations was initiated in a heavily infested non-crop field near Bucyrus, ND. Treatments were applied on July 14, 2022 using a backpack research sprayer with a 5 foot spray boom using a spray volume of 20 gallons per acre (Table 2). Canada thistle was at the budding stage to early bloom at time of application. Control was evaluated 1 to 8 weeks after treatment (WAT) application and then again at 1 year after treatment (YAT). At 8 WAT, Canada thistle control was 90% or more for all treatments except dicamba alone. At 1 YAT, only sis of the 13 treatments continued to control Canada thistle at 90% or more. These included picloram, aminocyclopyrachlor, glyphosate plus aminocyclopyrachlor, glyphosate plus aminopyralid, and aminocyclopyrachlor plus dicamba. Glyphosate alone, even at 2.25 lb ae per acre, provided poor control of Canada thistle (35 to 57%). Dicamba alone at 1 lb ae per acre also provided little control (23%). Aminopyralid alone, a very commonly used treatment for Canada thistle, provided 80% control. While aminocyclopyrachlor alone and in combination provided the best control most consistently, it is only currently labelled for use in non-crop, right-of-ways, and other areas that will not be grazed or hayed. It must not be used around any trees, as it will cause serious injury or death of most tree species if it leaches into the tree’s root zone.