White Cockle in Alfalfa

[woodland]

We have got some fields that are in alfalfa/ grass mix for hay and pasture and are now infested with white cockle. They are 1-3 year old fields with pretty decent stands so I'd like to leave them in for a few years more. We are planning on taking an early cut of hay to prevent them from setting seed as they are flowering now with the odd pod taking shape. They're the same height as the grass so I can't use a weed wiper on them. Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if there's a solution? Or am I stuck waiting for roundup ready alfalfa?

Alberta AG claims the seed lasts for three years but we disturbed some 25 year old pasture for a water line and guess what showed up there as well.



Everything white is cockle..... I wish it was dandelion fuzz instead.

[Hamloc]

Much to my surprise Pardner will control cow cockle in hayland but only up to the 4-5th leaf. Unfortunately won't help you now could use it after your first cut though.

[GDR]

You likely already read this from a WP article but just in case. I just Google it cause I wasn't sure what white cockles was.


"In alfalfa and clover, white cockle is treated with 2,4-DB products such as Cobutox, Embutox or Caliber in the 625 grams per litre formulation.

White cockle causes seed purity issues in timothy, alfalfa and clover because seed growers find the seeds impossible to clean from the crop.

In established pasture, a mix of dicamba, 2,4-D and mecoprop-p (DyVel DSp) can be applied at a rate of 1.3 litres per acre.

There is a 30 day grazing restriction on these products"

[woodland]

Much to my surprise Pardner will control cow cockle in hayland but only up to the 4-5th leaf. Unfortunately won't help you now could use it after your first cut though.

I'm not sure if cow cockle has hairy leaves like white cockle does but it sure makes it tough to get chemical on them. I might have to call a few chemical reps since it's not listed on the label of hardly anything for control. Willing to try anything to get rid of it since I want to sell hay but not off these fields. My cows are the taste testers for all the ugly stuff.