Late last year I purchased a small 12 acre property on the outskirts of Wagga. The paddocks were run down & covered in a thick mass of a large variety of weeds.
I started slashing after reading Back from the Brink & the results even this early have been amazing. The slashing in late spring left a large amount of vegetable material on the surface. At present we have pastures displaying far better characteristics for grazing & looking much healthier.
One problem, 2 of my 8 paddocks have quite extensive areas of caltrop - cathead.
I am hoping that raising the soil fertility through slashing will help control it, & hopefully in time defeat it. The large seed load in the soil is obviously a challenge.
One way I am trying without using poisons or chemical fertilizers is using Angora whethers, they're great distributors of manure & the hope it they'll convert the young caltrop plants next spring to organic fertilizer.
It's very early days for this experiment as yet for me, however if anyone has had a similar problem with Caltrop & have been able to successfully cure it or control it I'd love to hear from them.
Caltrop - Cathead -Bindii
Moderator: webmaster
The general rule of thumb is:
so called 'weeds' are soil system restorers. They will reproduce the fastest, sequester C as OM to raise the fertility levels and ultimately make way for the more fertility hungry grasses and other plants.
The soil reconditioners usually have characteristics that allow them to do the job Nature intended, such as having thorns, prickles, poisons to STOP animals from eating them until the job they are doing is completed.
Once you do what you are saying there will be a new dynamic established....and remember it is a living process....weeds will come and go as the system demands.
When fertility is poor 'weeds' come in and do the work they were designed for. When the fertility is high the grasses etc will outcompete the weeds everytime. Remember natural biodiversity is the key...grass, medics, clovers, plaintains, 'weeds' etc etc
A monoculture of grass spp only is a monoculture....which ever way you look at it.
BIODIVERSITY is always the key thing and using whatever you have growing as an opportunity to increase fertility and OM>simple as that
You are on the right track
so called 'weeds' are soil system restorers. They will reproduce the fastest, sequester C as OM to raise the fertility levels and ultimately make way for the more fertility hungry grasses and other plants.
The soil reconditioners usually have characteristics that allow them to do the job Nature intended, such as having thorns, prickles, poisons to STOP animals from eating them until the job they are doing is completed.
Once you do what you are saying there will be a new dynamic established....and remember it is a living process....weeds will come and go as the system demands.
When fertility is poor 'weeds' come in and do the work they were designed for. When the fertility is high the grasses etc will outcompete the weeds everytime. Remember natural biodiversity is the key...grass, medics, clovers, plaintains, 'weeds' etc etc
A monoculture of grass spp only is a monoculture....which ever way you look at it.
BIODIVERSITY is always the key thing and using whatever you have growing as an opportunity to increase fertility and OM>simple as that
You are on the right track
Bob
Here is what I googled about the plant in question from:
http://www.cottoncrc.org.au/content/Ind ... thead.aspx
Lifecycle/Biology: An annual or biennial plant that germinates after rainfall in late spring and summer, from the soil surface, or from up to 5 cm in depth in lighter soils. Plant growth is rapid and a deep root system is produced in a few weeks. The first flowers may be formed when the plant is only 3 weeks old and the first seed heads are produced in the first 5 to 6 weeks, with between 100 and 500 seed heads produced by a mature plant. Flower production continues for several months during summer and autumn, until the plants are frosted off and die in autumn and winter. Very few seeds germinate after shedding, but by six months dormancy has disappeared. The woody covering protects the seeds and allows buried seed to remain viable for many years. The plant can regrow from the taproot and in more tropical areas may reshoot from the taproot in the following season. The burr segments are easily dispersed as they stick to the rubber tyres, shoes etc.
Ecology: A weed of cultivation, degraded pastures, roadsides, irrigation channels and areas bared by mechanical disturbance. It is well adapted to all soil types, growing particularly well on lighter soils.
The problem: A common but troublesome weed to control on irrigation structures and rotabucks, and in many cultivated crops, particularly on recently developed fields. Control of this weed is difficult to achieve through cultivation alone because of successive germination events and the ability of the plant to reshoot from the taproot. The hard spines can puncture tyres and cause physical injury.
If you come from the natural perspective and not from the school that every weed should be obliterated and performs no function then the above info has ALL the answers you require!!
This plant is brilliant!! Why?? Quoting from above:
*An annual or biennial plant that germinates after rainfall in late spring and summer
*Plant growth is rapid and a deep root system is produced in a few weeks.
* A weed of cultivation, degraded pastures, roadsides, irrigation channels and areas bared by mechanical disturbance.
*It is well adapted to all soil types
*Control of this weed is difficult
From the natural perspective what is all of this info telling you??
I read it as:
Your pasture/soil is degraded, lacks fertility, this plant is difficult too control because it has not completed the work nature intended it to do, its fast growing with deep roots that will bring minerals back to the surface and when it dies back it will leave all that OM and fertility on the surface where the next succession of different plants will be able to grow. And just in case, there is another similiar problem down the line to solve again we will keep some seed in the ground to recorrect your problem when it next arises. Cost to you-NOTHING.
Nature has planned it all.
Here is what I googled about the plant in question from:
http://www.cottoncrc.org.au/content/Ind ... thead.aspx
Lifecycle/Biology: An annual or biennial plant that germinates after rainfall in late spring and summer, from the soil surface, or from up to 5 cm in depth in lighter soils. Plant growth is rapid and a deep root system is produced in a few weeks. The first flowers may be formed when the plant is only 3 weeks old and the first seed heads are produced in the first 5 to 6 weeks, with between 100 and 500 seed heads produced by a mature plant. Flower production continues for several months during summer and autumn, until the plants are frosted off and die in autumn and winter. Very few seeds germinate after shedding, but by six months dormancy has disappeared. The woody covering protects the seeds and allows buried seed to remain viable for many years. The plant can regrow from the taproot and in more tropical areas may reshoot from the taproot in the following season. The burr segments are easily dispersed as they stick to the rubber tyres, shoes etc.
Ecology: A weed of cultivation, degraded pastures, roadsides, irrigation channels and areas bared by mechanical disturbance. It is well adapted to all soil types, growing particularly well on lighter soils.
The problem: A common but troublesome weed to control on irrigation structures and rotabucks, and in many cultivated crops, particularly on recently developed fields. Control of this weed is difficult to achieve through cultivation alone because of successive germination events and the ability of the plant to reshoot from the taproot. The hard spines can puncture tyres and cause physical injury.
If you come from the natural perspective and not from the school that every weed should be obliterated and performs no function then the above info has ALL the answers you require!!
This plant is brilliant!! Why?? Quoting from above:
*An annual or biennial plant that germinates after rainfall in late spring and summer
*Plant growth is rapid and a deep root system is produced in a few weeks.
* A weed of cultivation, degraded pastures, roadsides, irrigation channels and areas bared by mechanical disturbance.
*It is well adapted to all soil types
*Control of this weed is difficult
From the natural perspective what is all of this info telling you??
I read it as:
Your pasture/soil is degraded, lacks fertility, this plant is difficult too control because it has not completed the work nature intended it to do, its fast growing with deep roots that will bring minerals back to the surface and when it dies back it will leave all that OM and fertility on the surface where the next succession of different plants will be able to grow. And just in case, there is another similiar problem down the line to solve again we will keep some seed in the ground to recorrect your problem when it next arises. Cost to you-NOTHING.
Nature has planned it all.
Just wondering if there is other plants that will out compete the bindii in the same situation 
I was walking around the sheds of the piggery and noticed that the first of the plants have sprouted. 
The soils are very light so the water from rain soaks straight though after the winter grasses have dried.
One way that you can control bindii is from water, i remember as a kid that the only way we could keep the bindii at bay was to keep the lawn moist, but that was in the days when we all were "Wallys With Water"
I was walking around the sheds of the piggery and noticed that the first of the plants have sprouted. The soils are very light so the water from rain soaks straight though after the winter grasses have dried.
One way that you can control bindii is from water, i remember as a kid that the only way we could keep the bindii at bay was to keep the lawn moist, but that was in the days when we all were "Wallys With Water"
Always keep an open mind
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Shirley Henderson
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
- Location: Thirlmere
Bindi
Hi Adrian, just reading your post about bindi. Bindi is out-competed easily. It grows on exposed areas but cannot compete in dense areas such as grass. If you can find another ground cover to cover your surface the bindi should mostly dissapear.
Shirley
Shirley
I run stock, ewes in fact and they lamb in mid April to mid May.
This is about the time that caltrop; if uncontrolled would be at its absolute peak growth with many burrs all hard and woody thickly matted covering many thousands of acres of pasture.
Not a pretty picture to see my newborn lambs limping after their mothers with burrs deeply embedded in their hooves and the ewes suddenly dieing from the toxic effects of this cursed plant.
Maybe they are repairing the degraded soil but I think I will be looking for another pest to do the job for me.
This is about the time that caltrop; if uncontrolled would be at its absolute peak growth with many burrs all hard and woody thickly matted covering many thousands of acres of pasture.
Not a pretty picture to see my newborn lambs limping after their mothers with burrs deeply embedded in their hooves and the ewes suddenly dieing from the toxic effects of this cursed plant.
Maybe they are repairing the degraded soil but I think I will be looking for another pest to do the job for me.
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Shirley Henderson
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
- Location: Thirlmere
Bindi
My post was about another Bindi, I did not realise that they called Caltrop Bindii as well.
Shirley
Shirley
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Shirley Henderson
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
- Location: Thirlmere
Caltrop
Hi Ian, I have had a bit of a look around on the net and found some info on the Bindii you are referring to which is Tribulus terrestris.
Tribulus terrestris has a toxic effect in sheep. It has been found to cause a chronic, progressive, irreversible disorder in the dopamine circuits of the nigrostriatal complex in the brain, resulting in impaired muscle function and weakness in the hindquarters, eventually leading to death.
Bourke CA. "A novel nigrostriatal dopaminergic disorder in sheep affected by Tribulus terrestris staggers". Research in Veterinary Science. 43.3 (1987):347-50.
Biological control programs are generally operated by the
Government rather than by individual land holders.
Anyone seeking information on these programs in Victoria
should contact the Victorian Department of Primary
Industries Frankston -END-
The biological control is a weevil but the Caltrop is saying KEEP OFF! not always possible, I know, but worth considering.
I also found some information in WEEDS CONTROL WITHOUT POISONSby Charles Walters on page 249 for those that have it and I have written to them to ask if I can quote them.. Hope this helps
Shirley
Tribulus terrestris has a toxic effect in sheep. It has been found to cause a chronic, progressive, irreversible disorder in the dopamine circuits of the nigrostriatal complex in the brain, resulting in impaired muscle function and weakness in the hindquarters, eventually leading to death.
Bourke CA. "A novel nigrostriatal dopaminergic disorder in sheep affected by Tribulus terrestris staggers". Research in Veterinary Science. 43.3 (1987):347-50.
Biological control programs are generally operated by the
Government rather than by individual land holders.
Anyone seeking information on these programs in Victoria
should contact the Victorian Department of Primary
Industries Frankston -END-
The biological control is a weevil but the Caltrop is saying KEEP OFF! not always possible, I know, but worth considering.
I also found some information in WEEDS CONTROL WITHOUT POISONSby Charles Walters on page 249 for those that have it and I have written to them to ask if I can quote them.. Hope this helps
Shirley
Hello Shirley, O you have hurt me to the quick!
>Department of Primary Industries-Frankston
I worked there for four years(in Administration) when it was called the Keith Turnbull Research Institute, DPI-Frankston? Keith Turnbull would turn in his grave!
BTW I heard from the minister that it is going to be closed soon, I don't know if that means for good, or it is going to be transfered to another institute?
Cheers
Col.
>Department of Primary Industries-Frankston
I worked there for four years(in Administration) when it was called the Keith Turnbull Research Institute, DPI-Frankston? Keith Turnbull would turn in his grave!
BTW I heard from the minister that it is going to be closed soon, I don't know if that means for good, or it is going to be transfered to another institute?
Cheers
Col.
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Shirley Henderson
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
- Location: Thirlmere
Back to the caltrop
Sorry to hear all that Col. I will keep following that up and chase up the weevils and other info. There has to be a way to rid the Caltrop enough so that dedicated biological farmers can work on the land without danger and the animals don't have to suffer. I am sure many have tried but we think differently dont we?
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Shirley Henderson
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
- Location: Thirlmere
Caltrop
Weeds: Controls without Poisons by Charles Walters
Reprinted with permission from Acres U.S.A., P.O. Box 91299, Austin, Texas 78709 (512) 892-4400,
www.acresusa.com
Best Wishes, Fred C. Walters Publisher
PUNCTURE VINE goat-head, caltrop, puncture weed, burnut, ground burnut.
All these names go with Tribulus terrestris, an annual that reproduces from seeds. It invades cultivated fields, but so-called waste areas are a more common habitat. Basically Puncture Vine-by whatever name-is a prostrate plant. Several stems of various lengths grow from a taproot, which services this hairy creature. Cotyledons are thick, very wide and brittle. Bright green leaves are elliptical, gray on the undersides. Yellow flowers are small, hardly a quarter of an inch across. (insert Shirl> Australia-flowers summer to Autumn) Seeds following form in a cluster of carpels, 5-angled bony, each with 2 divergent stout horns, separating at maturity. Each burr has 2-4 seeds. There is one seed in each compartment. When this weed ages and dries, its burs become a menace to all who venture near. Its horns penetrate rubber tires, either directly or indirectly. Puncture Vine burs often reduce the quality of wool. This shallow low-rooted weed is easy to control when young. A youngster can pull it up. A grub hoe or tiller reduces it to zilch quickly and efficiently. A low calcium and a very low phosphate level is the benchmark for this weed’s existence and control. In turn potassium, magnesium and manganese levels will read high when this weed grows. So will selenium. Chlorine and sulfate, even though drainage and residue decay may be good to excellent. Tribulus terrestris, unfortunately, poses more questions than answers.
Just an additive form myself (Shirley ) I have read that here in Australia the roots can go up to 2 metres deep and the spreading of braches the same.
Reprinted with permission from Acres U.S.A., P.O. Box 91299, Austin, Texas 78709 (512) 892-4400,
www.acresusa.com
Best Wishes, Fred C. Walters Publisher
PUNCTURE VINE goat-head, caltrop, puncture weed, burnut, ground burnut.
All these names go with Tribulus terrestris, an annual that reproduces from seeds. It invades cultivated fields, but so-called waste areas are a more common habitat. Basically Puncture Vine-by whatever name-is a prostrate plant. Several stems of various lengths grow from a taproot, which services this hairy creature. Cotyledons are thick, very wide and brittle. Bright green leaves are elliptical, gray on the undersides. Yellow flowers are small, hardly a quarter of an inch across. (insert Shirl> Australia-flowers summer to Autumn) Seeds following form in a cluster of carpels, 5-angled bony, each with 2 divergent stout horns, separating at maturity. Each burr has 2-4 seeds. There is one seed in each compartment. When this weed ages and dries, its burs become a menace to all who venture near. Its horns penetrate rubber tires, either directly or indirectly. Puncture Vine burs often reduce the quality of wool. This shallow low-rooted weed is easy to control when young. A youngster can pull it up. A grub hoe or tiller reduces it to zilch quickly and efficiently. A low calcium and a very low phosphate level is the benchmark for this weed’s existence and control. In turn potassium, magnesium and manganese levels will read high when this weed grows. So will selenium. Chlorine and sulfate, even though drainage and residue decay may be good to excellent. Tribulus terrestris, unfortunately, poses more questions than answers.
Just an additive form myself (Shirley ) I have read that here in Australia the roots can go up to 2 metres deep and the spreading of braches the same.