Battle of the pear cactus...

   / Battle of the pear cactus... #1  

merlintractor

Bronze Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2009
Messages
85
Location
Colorado Front Range
Tractor
MF 1260
I've got about 20 acres of good pasture, problem is that its covered in pear and some cholla cactus. Any ideas on the best implement to take this stuff out?? Tiller, rake? Thx.
 
   / Battle of the pear cactus... #3  
Mechanical means of removing the complete plant and roots. If you till it you will have a bumper crop of prickly pear like you have never seen, if you mow/shred it you will have the same results.

You have to remove it completely. There are herbicides that work over time and are expensive and you need the applicator license for these.

I don't know about the Cholla cactus, I am not in their range.
 
   / Battle of the pear cactus... #4  
Not wanting to hijack this thread I started one in the AG Machinery area in hopes someone could enlighten me also. I know roundup won't work on the plant itself but I'm wondering if it would work on the roots. i.e. cut just below surface to expose raw root and then apply roundup.
 
   / Battle of the pear cactus... #6  
Let me qualify myself as certainly no expert on P Pear but... I have began a war with it that I will most certainly lose but, this is what I am doing...

I use the FEL, turned on edge and I scrap the pear out of the ground. A little moisture in the ground makes it easier to get the roots... I scoop them into large piles and it seems that the ones on top are dead/dying... eventually I plan to burn each pile using a bit of diesel for encouragement...

Yes, I miss a lot of the smaller plants ... I have read that damaging the plant (shredding or otherwise) increases the effectiveness of chemicals... and this is my plan... finish what I have begun, shred as much as possible and then go back and spot treat with chemicals.... Let ya know in a year or two how effective it is.. :D

The Dougster in Central Texas
 
   / Battle of the pear cactus... #7  
Hi, Dougster, welcome to TBN.

I suggest a plan to CONTROL, rather than ERADICATE the pear... you will be much happier person.

Much study has been done on the methods... I recommend you study carefully these sites and determine which methods meet your area and pocket book.

http://www.tarleton.edu/~txjanr/Volumes/Vol%2016%20-%202003/V16_03_Art04.pdf

nature-prickly pear

Here is Texas A&M's best recommendations:
Brush Busters Brush Control Program
Pricklypear and Other Cacti

Personally, I've used chemical control to great success....

Good luck!
 
   / Battle of the pear cactus... #8  
Wow. After reading these two articles I'm glad I don't have a bad problem. Kinda looks like my resolution will be to just plain dig out the ones that are in the middle of the field and leave the ones on the fence line alone. One thing I'm wondering now is if I were to use a propane tourch (20lb cylinder and wand) to kill the plants I don't want.
 
   / Battle of the pear cactus... #9  
A rancher I know suggested that i scrape off the big plants and then plow and plant haygrazer for 2 years. HE SAID THE PEAR WOULD BE GONE . Well he was right about my field. I have a few small residuals but I now disk each year and have ended up with a very nice pasture sans cactus. May be more work than you need to do. I also used a loader to scrape up some big plants and put them in dump truck. Make a huge pile down by the river, that I let dry out and then burn. Never competely win the war do we?
rick
 
   / Battle of the pear cactus... #10  
And here I am trying to grow pear cactus in a flower bed.
 
 

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