Article

Controlling Weeds and Preserving Forage and Forbs

A herd of black, brown and black-and-white cattle grazes in a green pasture bordered by tall trees beneath a warm pink evening sky.

Prairies and grasslands are among the world’s most ecologically important landscapes. These wide-open spaces provide nutrition for livestock and habitats for wildlife. They sequester millions of tons of carbon in their soils and are home to hundreds of species of grasses, trees and herbaceous flowering plants called forbs. These lands are also places of great beauty, appreciated by the ranchers and land managers who care for them and millions of tourists drawn to their sweeping vistas.

When weeds encroach on these areas, they create more than an eyesore. They choke out diverse, desirable vegetation that helps feed animals and preserve soil. Some weeds are invasive, replacing important native plants and changing the ecosystem. To keep these lands biodiverse and productive for feeding livestock, ranchers and land managers need options to control weeds across large areas without damaging other plants.

Managing weeds, preserving desirable vegetation

Rinskor™ active is a herbicide active ingredient available for use in range and pasture settings. It works in a way that is both selective and convenient, to control many species of troublesome weeds while minimizing environmental impact and helping to preserve biodiversity. Rinskor is part of the synthetic auxins group of chemistry, classified in the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC) Group 4, but it works differently from other herbicides in the way it binds to its target site in weeds. Its mode of action makes Rinskor highly effective at lower use rates than other commonly used herbicides and minimizes impact on desirable vegetation, including grasses.

Benefits in pastures

Ranchers strive to provide plenty of high-quality, nutritious forage — not weeds — for their cattle feed on. This can be a challenge since many herbicides will also control white clover, a highly desirable foraging plant. Now, ranchers in the U.S. have the option of using NovaGraz™ herbicide in their pastures, which uses a combination of Rinskor™ and 2,4-D choline. Because of the selective activity of Rinskor, NovaGraz doesn’t harm white clover. In addition to providing nutritious forage for animals, white clover also helps improve soil quality through nitrogen-fixing. By maintaining pastures with more white clover, ranchers can help improve animal health and soil health.

These images from a study of NovaGraz show that five weeks after application, white clover is flowering and flourishing.*

Results in rangeland settings

In rangeland settings, land managers need options to control weeds and invasive vegetation without damaging native plants. Native plants provide numerous benefits including helping to reduce wildfire threats, providing habitat for wildlife and feeding large animals such as elk. In rangeland areas across the western U.S., many land managers are finding success with DuraCor® herbicide, which is a combination of Rinskor™ active and aminopyralid. In a study of DuraCor effects on 65 species of forbs, results showed the vast majority of these wildflower species were not susceptible to the herbicide. This gives ranchers and land managers more confidence that when they use Rinskor, they won’t also eliminate desirable vegetation along with weeds. DuraCor also provides long-lasting results, which is important for remote rangeland areas that land managers may only be able to treat every few years.

Convenient to use

Thanks to many of the features of Rinskor™ active, both NovaGraz™ and DuraCor® herbicides are convenient to use and can be applied in situations where other herbicides can’t. For example, when used according to the label, both products can be applied right up to the water’s edge and around trees. Rinskor also has low volatility and high sorptivity to soil, which helps ensure the active ingredient stays on target where it’s applied.

Maintaining biodiversity and restoring lands

By choosing herbicides that help maintain desirable plants, ranchers and land managers can also help restore lands that have become less biodiverse or are choked out by weeds. In the western U.S., use of selective active ingredients such as Rinskor™ active has helped facilitate more biodiverse landscapes where desirable vegetation is nourishing livestock and big game, land is more resilient in the face of climate stress and invasive vegetation has less opportunity to take root. Active ingredients such as Rinskor enable rangelands and pastures to become more self-sustaining, biodiverse places that are good for animals, people and the planet.

Learn more about Rinskor active

_{* Corteva Agriscience. Field observations of NovaGraz™ herbicide. Data on file.}

_{With NovaGraz™ herbicide, white clover exhibits some initial injury (such as lodging and loss of vigor) but recovers.}

_{Label precautions apply to forage treated with DuraCor® herbicide and to manure and urine from animals that have consumed treated forage. Under normal field conditions, DuraCor is non-volatile. DuraCor has no grazing or haying restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy cows, horses (including lactating mares) and meat animals prior to slaughter. When treating areas in and around roadside or utility rights-of-way that are or will be grazed, hayed or planted to forage, important label precautions apply regarding harvesting hay from treated sites, using manure from animals grazing on treated areas or rotating the treated area to sensitive crops.}

_{DuraCor and NovaGraz are not registered for sale or use in all states or countries. Contact your pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your area. Always read and follow label directions.}