Most buttercup plants emerge from seed during the fall or late winter months. This is one reason buttercups can survive year to year and new plants emerge each year. Waiting until after flowers appear can be too late to implement control tactics. New seed are produced during the time petals are showy. Although each of these plants may have somewhat similar flower heads, each of these buttercup species differs somewhat in their vegetative leaf characteristics. There are four different species of buttercups that may be found in Kentucky: bulbous buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus), creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens), tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris), and small flower buttercup (Ranunculus arbortivus). Plants typically produce five, shiny yellow petals in the early spring. In fact, many fields that have dense buttercup populations are fields heavily grazed by animals during the fall through the early spring months.īuttercups are sometimes classified as short-lived perennials, but often grow as winter annuals. As a cool season weed, this plant often flourishes in over grazed pasture fields with poor stands of desirable forages. Green, Extension Weed Scientist - One of the signs that spring has arrived is when the yellow flowers of buttercup begin to appear, but it’s during the winter months that the vegetative growth of buttercup takes place. There can be some pasture growth suppression where clover tolerant products are used, but pasture production recovers in the absence of the weeds.Dr.Base product selection on target weed species, and ensure it is appropriate for clover sensitivity. Spray dock when you see the first new leaves unroll, don’t spray too early.Spray buttercup once you start seeing yellow flowers, usually from mid-late September to early November.If targeting buttercup, dock or both, refine your product selection and time appropriately.Walk your paddocks and identify weed species.Get in touch with your local PGG Wrightson Technical Field Representative to walk your paddocks and help you with your herbicide management plan and product choice for spring. There can be some pasture growth suppression if conditions are warm at the time of spraying, so don’t delay spraying too late into spring. If there is a good amount of clover, use “softer chemistry” that is either safe or less damaging to clovers. This helps kill the toughest of weeds and unfortunately any clover, but is still safe on grasses and the clover can always be added back in at a later date. If the clover content is low or non-existent, more robust chemistry can be used. When using herbicides, the clover content of the pasture has to be taken into account as this affects your product selection and timing. Sometimes there has to be a compromise between these two spray periods. The timing of the sprays are when soils have just started to warm up and you see the first signs of buttercup flowers or, if you have docks, when the first new spring leaves start to unroll. A range of herbicides are available for use in established pasture and, if used correctly, they should give a high level of weed control, with no damage to pasture grasses and minimal damage to clover species. Early spring when weeds are actively growing is the best time for some other selective chemistry. Normally, the best time to use broad spectrum herbicides such as 2,4-D for weed control in established pasture is during autumn and early winter, but for these two weeds 2,4-D is not the correct product. By then it is too late to do anything effective about them and stay relatively clover safe. Most people forget they have these two weeds until they see paddocks covered in yellow buttercup flowers or tall ugly dock seed-heads standing above the grazing platform. These two weeds can cause a large amount of competition to perennial pastures and, if left unchecked, they force you to have to renew your pasture earlier than desired due to poor performance. For the good of the longevity and quality of pasture, these weeds should be controlled.Īs I walk pastures around the country in the early spring, I notice more and more pastures infested with weeds, such as buttercup and dock. These weeds compete for light, space, moisture and nutrients. Over time, established perennial pastures can become overrun with weeds and reduce pasture production if left unchecked.ĭry summers, wet winters, insect attacks, poor fertility and over-grazing can cause the death of desirable pasture plants, thus creating gaps for weeds to colonise.
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