![]() Once the threshold has been reached – and you’ll know when that has happened – the infestation will have to be controlled by chemical means. Longer rest periods prior to grazing again can help to create more competition from desirable species when it is still not too high in population. That only helps a little bit because the plant can set seed quite closely to the ground if forced to do so – but at least less seed is produced. Maintaining cover is one of the best methods to help compete again with the emergence and growth of this weed.ĭon’t let it go to seed if at all possible! Mowing directly after a grazing event can help level the playing field just a little bit, setting the plant back to a more vegetative state. Overgrazing fields create opportunities for buttercup to grow. Most buttercup plants develop from seed during the fall (somewhat dependent on if enough moisture is present). We don’t usually think about the pesky yellow flowered buttercup in the fall, but we should. Be careful not to overgraze, especially in the fall and weaken the competition from desirable species. Check and maintain good fertility on pasture and hay fields to encourage good production and growth of desirable species. What can we do about this pest? First of all, try not to bring it onto the farm in the first place. A field where it was barely visible one year can turn to a field of solid yellow flowers in just a year or two. Like I said, horses will totally avoid it and have no issue picking around it and eating any desirable species into the dirt if allowed. I’ve seen this happen quite quickly in horse pastures. So, when undesirable plants like buttercup are avoided and desirable species are grazed tighter than they should be, the undesirable species gets a continually stronger foothold for dominance in the pasture. ![]() Yellow bluestem or Broomsedge is a good example of this, it’s actually decent quality when it first spikes and starts to grow, but quickly turns to very undesirable and avoided rubbish. This quite often is the case with species that have anti-quality factors that tend to increase as the plant matures or with plants that have a very short desirable stage. Intermediate species are only eaten by certain species of livestock for short periods of time when somewhat tolerable and then avoided. Desirable plants are readily consumed by livestock and generally are of good quality to consume. They quite often have undesirable side effects when eaten or have little to no food value. Undesirable species, like buttercup, are plants typically rejected by livestock. They tend to have mouth blistering when they consume much of the plant. Sheep don’t typically eat buttercup but are more likely to graze the plant than most animals when the plant is very immature. Horses hate the stuff and will totally avoid it. Even then, it is usually still minimally consumed. The toxin is not a problem or concern in hay – but if present in hay that is being made, seeds from maturing plants may get moved to new locations.Ĭattle don’t like it and will only eat it if there is nothing else present. Most likely the animal is getting some type of negative biological feedback from the plant fairly quickly and stops consuming it before it takes in too much. It generally is avoided if there is anything else to graze. ![]() Luckily, I suppose, most livestock will not consume buttercup because it is just unpalatable. Animals that consume buttercup may suffer from mouth blisters, diarrhea, colic or possibly in some cases death. ![]() The whole situation is then exasperated with each passing growing season.īuttercup is toxic to all species of livestock. Wet soils with at least some compaction and bare soil creates ideal conditions for buttercup. This not only sets back desirable forage species that would normally compete with the weed, but also provides some small bare soil spots that enable the pesty weed to really take off from that built up seed bank. That opportunity usually starts with overgrazed fall pastures with at least some soil disturbance. It may lay incognito for several years in the understory of forage slowly increasing the seed bank and waiting for an opportunity to fully show its true colors. If you like pretty, yellow flowers, then they will never let you down – but you don’t want them! Don’t build me up buttercup – that will age me.īuttercup most often sneaks in from bought hay, poorly cleaned seed or from hay equipment. The “foundation” of its existence in such prevalence most likely has come from a built-up seed bank. It is called buttercup and it’s not something you want to see in the field, even if it is pretty.Īnd despite seemingly appearing out of nowhere, this winter annual probably didn’t just abruptly appear. I’ve had two people ask lately about the yellow flowered plant that has suddenly invaded one of their pastures this spring. Buttercup might look pretty to some people, but it’s a terrible weed in pastures. ![]()
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