PATRUCHA RANCH- JIMMY BENDELE, MANAGER
 
ROBERT ELLEDGE, JR., COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT
ROBERT K. LYONS, EXTENSION RANGE SPECIALIST
 
BRACKETTVILLE - KINNEY COUNTY- PRECINCT 1
 
SUMMARY
Mesquite trees and prickly-pear plants were treated using individual plant treatment methods for control.  In 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 the Brush Buster leaf-spray method for mesquite control was demonstrated in Kinney County and other south and south-central Texas counties. The Kinney County demonstration was established in 1998.  In the counties where these result demonstrations were established in 1996-98, this treatment method provided expected control levels (greater than 75%).  Average apparent plant-kill 1 year following treatment in these counties was 86%, with a range of 58 to 99%.  The low control level in Gillespie County appeared to be due to grasshopper leaf damage. Average treatment cost including labor and chemicals was $0.12 per plant, with a range of $0.07 to 0.18.  Lower costs occurred when most plants were less than 3 feet tall.  Most mesquite in these counties are multi-stemmed which suggests that the leaf-spray method is the best choice in most situations.  In the Kinney County demonstration, 3 additional herbicide mixes were demonstrated and compared to the Brush Buster recommended mix of Remedy and Reclaim.  These additional herbicide mixes included Reclaim, Remedy +Reclaim +Tordon 22K. The Trodon 22K was added because of prickly-pear incidental to the plots.  All treatments were highly effective for mesquite control with an apparent 1 year plant-kill of 98 to 99%.  However, spray costs for these additional herbicide mixes were from 27 to 56% greater than the Brush Busters Remedy + Reclaim method.  
 
 
Apparent 1-year plant-kill for prickly-pear was 50 and 35% for the 3-way mix with 1% and 0.5% Tordon 22K, respectively.  Treatment costs using these two mixes were about $0.19 and $0.16 per plant compared to typical costs of $0.03 to $0.05 per plant.  Whether these additional costs are justified depends on labor considerations.  However, treatment of separate species in different years might be a more economical approach than one treatment.  
 
PROBLEM
Choosing the right method is often difficult and some have been tried only to discover another method would have worked better in a particular area.  Landowners need data and a site demonstration to see how the methods are working so they may compare the demonstration site to their own to enable them to make the best choice.  Economic factors such as cost of application, cost share options with USDA programs and equipment need should be included in their decisions.
         OBJECTIVES
An area was selected in 1998 to begin work on this demonstration and the cooperator has been using all of the above mentioned methods at various locations on the 10,000 acre ranch.  The goal was to provide a site where county land-owners could tour and look at results of each method and the range response after treatments.
 
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In the summers of 1996-99, leaf-spray treatment plots were established in 13 counties throughout Extension Districts 10 and 12.  Treatments were applied  using Brush Buster methods by 2 to 3-person crews using an ATV equipped with spray tanks and 3 spray-guns equipped with 5500-X8 Adjustable Conjet Nozzles.  Plants were treated with the Brush Buster mixture of 0.5% Remedy + 0.5% Reclaim + 0.25% surfactant + 0.5% HiLite Blue Dye in water.  In the Kinney County demonstration, the Brush Buster mixture and 3 additional herbicide mixes were tested.  All of the 3 additional mixes included 0.25% surfactant and 0.5% HiLite Blue Dye.  Herbicides in the 3 additional mixes were 1) 1% Reclaim, 2) 0.5% Remedy + 0.5% Reclaim + 1% Tordon 22K, and 3) 0.5% Remedy + 0.5% Reclaim + 0.5% Tordon 22K.  All 4 treatments were applied May 18, 19998.  
Mesquite Leaf-sprays  
 
 RESULTS
In the counties where the Brush Buster mesquite leaf-spray treatment (0.5% Remedy + 0.5% Reclaim + 0.25% surfactant + 0.5% HiLite Blue Dye in water) was used in 1996-98, apparent plant-kill 1 year following treatment averaged 86% with a range of 58 to 99%.   Spray costs over all locations  ranged from about $0.05 to $0.14 per plant, while labor costs ranged from $0.02 to $0.05 per plant.  The lowest spray and labor costs were in demonstrations with smaller plants, mostly less than 3 feet tall. Total costs ranged from $0.07 to $0.18 per plant, with an average of $0.12.  
 
All 4 herbicide mixes were highly effective for mesquite control.  Apparent 1-year plant-kill for these treatments was 98 to 99%.  However, treatment costs were greater for each of the 3 additional herbicide mixes than for the Brush Busters mix.  
 
Costs for the two Tordon 22K treatments  may be influence by some of the large pricklypear plants in the plots.  To better compare mesquite treatment costs, spray cost per ounce for each treatment was multiplied by the average ounces of spray per mesquite used in the Brush Busters Remedy + Reclaim treatment to calculate a standardized cost across treatments.  These standardized costs show that the Brush Busters treatment was the least expensive.  The Reclaim, Remedy + Reclaim + 1% Tordon 22K, and Reclaim, Remedy + Reclaim + 0.5% Tordon 22K treatments cost 33, 57, and 27% more than the Remedy + Reclaim treatment.  
 
Prickly-pear control was less than expected, especially for the treatment with 1% Tordon 22K.  However, this treatment is typically slow, taking one year or more to kill prickly-pear.  The 1% Tordon 22K produced better control than the 0.5% treatment (Figure 4).  Because these treatments also included Remedy and Reclaim, treatment costs were much higher than for treatments with Trodon 22K alone, which are usually in the $0.03 to $0.05 per plant range.  
 
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Economic data will be incorporated in the results as it becomes available in an attempt to analyze the costs associated with the various methods of brush control.  
A tour was held in October of 1999 to allow participants the opportunity to see the methods of application and equipment used to apply each method.  In addition, several pieces of the equipment were demonstrated so tour participants could see first-hand the action of the machinery and share programs and sources of materials and equipment in this area was also discussed.
 
CONCLUSION
The Brush Busters Remedy + Reclaim treatment provided as effective mesquite control as Reclaim alone and at a lower cost.  Addition of Tordon 22K to Remedy + Reclaim provided effective mesquite control, but increased the cost above the Remedy + Reclaim treatment.  Addition of Tordon 22K provided some prickly-pear control but at 3 to 5 times the cost of Tordon 22K alone.  Although it is convenient to treat everything at once, this approach may not be the most economical.  An alternative approach might be treatment of separate species in different years.  
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Kinney County office of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and assistance of Jimmy Bendele for his contribution and support in this demonstration and Dow Agro Sciences for their support in these demonstration efforts.