How to get rid of Foxtail

[Syncro]

We have areas of foxtail growing in our grass hay, anybody have any advice on how to get rid of it? I wonder if there is a spray one could use in early spring that would kill it yet not harm the timothy and other pasture grasses, or maybe another way?

 

[Toiyabe]

Can you be more specific about what you are calling a foxtail? Foxtail is a pretty broad term. I presume you aren't talking about cheatgrass (drooping brome).

Your irrigation practices might be favoring it. Have you noticed if the areas in which it is growing are wetter or dryer than the areas with timothy?

Have you tried talking to the County Extension folks?

 

[Egon]

From days long since gone: To my impression of Fox tail it grew on older fields that may have been alkaline.

It may not hurt to do a soil analysis and then go from there. Cultivation may be in order but first find out present conditions and figure out how to get to the desired conditions.

 

[anojones]

We purchased our land about 3 years ago and have a big cheatgrass problem. We are not currently pasturing any livestock but have been trying to rehab the area without irrigation by re-seeding with some native grasses etc. I did a lot of research and talked to folks around me, most said you have to use round-up and re-seed but I did find an herbicide that is specific to the cheat grass. It can damage some other grasses so you'd have to look at the label to make sure it won't damage your pasture. I sprayed in the fall with Journey (imazapic and glyphospahte) and made some good headway on the cheat, but will spray again this fall. Plateau is the same product without the glyphosphate but is not marketed to consumer users, however, your chemical supplier may be able to get it. Check out this website for more info- it's where I started and there is access to the labels as well.
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[Syncro]

Thanks all for the info, I went out to take a picture of exactly what the locals call Foxtail and couldn't find any! We started haying a couple days ago and all of my fields are cut (along with the Foxtail) so I'll have to scout around for a sample. I was also thinking the local ag extension probably has this dialed in already, I'll talk with them and post the results.