Using lime to control horsetail?

[Vince G]

Couldn't find my previous lengthy post about Kurtail, but that's what I have used in the past and I have very little horsetail left on my plot whilst others around me are pulling out bucket loads weekly.

The jist of my previous post was that I had referred it to a friend of mine who is an ecotoxicologist (i.e. his work involves analysing into the effects of chemicals on the environment). Rather than poisoning the plant like a glyphosate based weedkiller, this stuff inhibits photosynthesis when a coating of it is sprayed onto the shoots. If a plant can't photosynthesise, it dies to the roots - full stop.

It neutralises on contact with soil, meaning in theory you can plant straight away. Despite the fact it is not a nasty poison like round-up etc, it does contain some toxic ingredients, so I tend not to re-plant for a good while.

I do get residual plants pop up from bits of root still present in the soil, but very infrequently.

[marchogaeth]

The type of horsetail you plant in a pond or on the margins is NOT the same invasive horsetail you get in the garden.

This is either Equisetum scirpoides, or Equisetum japonica, while 'wild' horsetail is E. hyemale.

I think I've got them all in my area but maybe that is the confusion in the article, perhaps they are referring to the true bog plant.

[BertieFox]

"If a plant can't photosynthesise, it dies to the roots - full stop."

Not the case with horsetail. The black bootlace roots penetrate as deeply as several metres into the soil, and have great longevity. I think I said above that we covered an entire area with black plastic for around eighteen months to try to eradicate it. When we removed the plastic, the ground looked clear.

The horsetail started to re-emerge within a few weeks.

If Kurtail does work, it must do something more than just preventing the plant photosynthesising. I have read of treatments in America but they were so toxic they could only be used under special conditions by authorised agricultural workers, and were not available to the public.

[sparrow100]

If Kurtail does work, it must do something more than just preventing the plant photosynthesising. I have read of treatments in America but they were so toxic they could only be used under special conditions by authorised agricultural workers, and were not available to the public.

Kurtail is only meant for use by licensed professionals with proper gear. It acts as a neuro toxin as well as herbicide which is why covering all skin is sensible if you're spraying. The active ingredient is glufosinate ammonium which will kill off top growth but not the rhizomes.

This is worth a read: http://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/f...nate_ammon.pdf

[BertieFox]

To quote from that report:

"The active ingredient can move within leaves but cannot move to other parts of the plant such as underground rhizomes or stolons. Long-term control of perennial weeds is therefore limited. "

So it sounds as if its control of horsetail would be very limited even if you wanted to use such a dangerous product and could get hold of it.

I suspect the best control is frequent cultivation with the removal of every piece of root and stem at each stage. How about early potatoes, followed by a short term crop like turnips or beetroot, and then another cultivation prior to sowing a winter cover crop like oats or winter tares? It wouldn't get rid of it but it would certainly get it under control.