Controlling Saw Palmetto with Individual Plant and Broadcast Herbicide Treatments

Abstract

Saw palmetto [Serenoa repens (Bartram) Small] is a small palm-like shrub that is a common and troublesome weed of rangeland and pastures. Very little information is available on chemical control of this species; therefore, field experiments were conducted in which metsulfuron and triclopyr were applied to saw palmetto as individual plant treatments, and aminopyralid, fluroxypyr, metsulfuron, and triclopyr were applied as broadcast treatments. The minimum acceptable level of saw palmetto control was considered to be 80%. Individual plant treatments that provided acceptable saw palmetto control 12 months after treatment (MAT) were 4.0% v/v triclopyr, 0.5 + 0.5, 1.0 + 0.5, 0.5 + 1.0, and 1.0 oz/100 gal + 1.0% v/v metsulfuron + triclopyr. Broadcast treatments that provided acceptable control 12 MAT were 0.11 + 0.02 + 1.0 lb aminopyralid + metsulfuron + triclopyr/acre, 0.11 + 0.02 + 2.0 lb aminopyralid + metsulfuron + triclopyr/acre, and 2.0 + 0.08 lb triclopyr + metsulfuron/acre. Individual plant and broadcast treatments that lacked triclopyr did not provide acceptable saw palmetto control.