Rock Rake

The rock rake shown in Figure 210, mounted on a large crawler
tractor, has been used for clearing salt cedar growth in the Caballo
Reservoir area, Caballo Project, New Mexico. The rake pulls
many trees up by the roots. Woody plant growth removed is then
stacked and burned.

On 3,578 acres cleared by the means described, the average cost
has been about $13.75 per acre, which includes all field costs
except burning.

173


could be carried and the
water drained away freely
when the debris was raised.

Sugarcane forks to which one
or more tines can be added
for this type of use are avail-
able commercially.

A fork-type attachment used
on a commercially available
truck-mounted unit has facil-
itated the removal of floating
moss or other debris that
accumulates in canals and
drains on the Yuma Project,
Arizona, The attachment
developed by the Yuma County
Water Users' Association, is
shown in Figures 195 and 196.

When the dislodged debris
amounts to so much that it



Operation of the machine is similar to a dragline, except that the
unit is mounted rigidly and will not swing. A light scraper with a
fixed handle on each end is guided by two men inthe ditch. The
hoist line from one drum is used to dump and return the scraper,
and a cable from the other drum serves as a dragline.

Water-propelled Scraper

The water propelled scraper shown in Figures 203 and 204 was
devised to cut loose sediment and waterweeds from concrete-lined

Fig. 203

canals. Pressure
of the water against
the vertical plank
wall, which is cut
to fit the shape of
the lining, pushes
the scraper down
the channel. If the
water pressure is
not sufficient, the
scraper is pulled
by a truck.

Scouring action of
the water rushing
between the movable
scraper blade wings

and the lining effectively sluices free much of the debris that is not
loosened by the bulkhead which is shaped to fit snugly against the

walls.



ideally suited for the work. Demossing on the project in 1956 by
the use of the bucket was being done for approximately $68.00 per
mile. This is about one-half the cost of the conventional chaining
and disking operation previously used, which involved catching the
moss on grates placed in the waterway being cleaned and then hand
forking the moss from the grates.

Fig. 197



cannot be floated through the turnouts with the irrigation water, the
fork-type attachment has proved to be a very efficient unit for the
performance of the work.

P35-D-29337

Fig. 196

Weed and Demossing Buckets

A bucket shown in Figure 197 was fabricated in the shops of the
Salt River Valley Water Users' Association in Phoenix, Arizona,
for use with the Association's fleet of excavators in expediting and
facilitating the removal of moss from the canals and laterals of
the irrigation system.

The bucket is shaped much like a 60-inch ditch cleaning bucket sup-
plied by the excavator manufacturer. However, the Salt River
bucket is 72 inches wide, has a serrated cutting edge, and the
bucket plate has been perforated, as it is normally used under
water.

The unit is shown in operation in Figure 198. A large amount of
moss and silt can be removed with each pass of the bucket, demoss-
ing about 1 mile of ditch per day.

Cleaning of the canal or lateral while demossing also eliminates an
additional pass through the ditch by hand crews at a later date.

On the Salt River Project, maintenance of the canal system is com-
plicated by the proximity of many growing residential areas. Lim-
ited right-of-way, the presence of overhead power and telephone
lines, and other residential problems. This made the equipment


The bucket shown

in Figure 201 also
was designed for
use in removing
tumbleweeds from
channels where
rocks or other pro-
jections will damage
bucket teeth.

This bucket, also
used on the Colum-
bia Basin Project,
Washington, was
designed for use

on a 3/4-yard drag-
line.

Fig. 201
Scrapers

Scrapers for Small Ditches

Removal of weed-infested berms and windblown or water-deposited
soil from small ditches is a laborious task. To mechanize this oper-
ation, personnel on the Orland Project, California, have designed and
constructed the trailer-
mounted winch-scoop,
shown in Figure 202,

to rapidly clean small-
sized ditches,

The main unit of the
machine consists of

a three-drum winch
powered by a gasoline
engine. Fixed upright
standards are attached
firmly to one end of
the steel frame which
is mounted crosswise
upon a four-wheel
trailer. The stand-
ards are used for the
attachment and support
of the light boom.

168


Trashrack Rake

The debris that collects on the trashrack of the Wellton-Mohawk
Pumping Plant No. 1 of the Gila Project, Arizona, consists largely
of pondweed, as shown in Figure 189. A mechanical rake similar
to that installed on other project facilities was provided for clear-
ing the debris from the trashrack. In operation, however, diffi-
culty was encountered in using the rake due to the type of debris.

It collected on the trashrack and interwove into a homogeneous com-
pact mass, forcing the wheels of the rake to ride over it. This in
turn lifted the rake away from the trash bars. Modifications to
improve operations were made as discussed below.

A drawing of the original trashrack rake is presented in Figure 190.
The modification of the rake devised by the project forces is illus-
trated in Figure 191, and consists of a set of rake teeth or plows
mounted just ahead of the wheels. The teeth clear a path through
the debris so that the wheels are permitted to roll on the surface of
the rack as designed, successfully removing the entwined mass.

The type of debris appears to have a bearing on the success of the
rake in clearing trashracks. As now modified, the Gila Project

is well satisfied with the rake in handling the debris, principally
pondweed and moss encountered in the canal system. A view of the
rake in operation is shown in Figure 192.

LM rgsossrows

Fig. 189

160


Fig. 206

regrowth at an average cost of $9.00 per acre. As shown in Fig-
ure 207, the cutter blade normally operates between 12 and 18
inches below the surface of the soil.



The blade which serves as a runner for the scraper slices through

and loosens the sediment on the bottom of the canal. Hinged exten-
sions on each side of the scraper bulkhead have been added so that

the unit can be used in ditches of different sizes.

The scraper was designed for use on the Contra Costa Canal by
personnel of the Delta District, Central Valley Project, Califor-
nia,

Cutters and Mowers

The clearing of floodways and reservoir areas in projects in the
southwest to reduce transpiration of water by woody plants and
improve the flow characteristics in channels is a major under-
taking. The problem in the Middle Rio Grande Project in New
Mexico is illustrated in Figure 205. The view shown is a typical
stand of salt cedar along the flood plain of the Rio Grande River.

Root Cutters

Large equipment has been used in the clearing work on the Middle
Rio Grande Project. Figure 206 is a rear view of a root cutter
used in removal of the woody vegetation. The rooter, powered
by a heavy-duty tractor shown, cut 860 acres of the woody plant

170


The operation of a
smaller weed bucket
is illustrated in Fig-
ure 199, The trash-
racks can be cleared
rapidly after a severe
windstorm with this
rubber-mounted equip-
ment on the Columbia
Basin Project, Wash-
ington. The dead
tumbleweeds which
accumulate on the
trashracks are burned
in place on the landing
mat platform,

For use where bucket
teeth may catch on
rocky banks, the
reinforced weed
bucket shown in Fig-
ure 200, is used in
Fig. 199 weed removal oper-

ations on the Colum-

bia Basin Project.

The bucket is designed
for mounting on a similar type rubber-mounted excavator as those
previously shown.

167


Weed Forks

Several methods of weed control are in general use on the Klamath
Project, California-Oregon, including the use of aromatic solvents,
chaining, and dredging. Removal of dislodged moss and weeds that
have floated downstream to pumps, culverts and siphons has in past
years been done to quite an extent by hand labor at a relatively high
cost. The savings, therefore, due to the use of the weed fork shown
in Figures 193 and 194 is worth consideration by other projects with
like problems.

In an attempt to reduce the manpower used in this work, the Tule
Lake Division of the Klamath Project purchased a crane-operated
sugarcane grapple or fork. This fork was modified by adding two
prongs and a heavy weight to each jaw. The weights were needed

to give faster and more positive action in opening and closing. This
fork was operated by a truck crane, giving it the required mobility
to move around to various ditches as required.

Fig. 193

The weed fork shown in Figure 194 was designed and constructed
for use on the W. C. Austin Project, Oklahoma, to remove weed
growth which has been broken loose by chaining operations or to
grab floating material. The use of the mechanical weed fork was
found to be more effective than a dragline bucket as a larger payload

163


APPENDIX



UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

~

WEED CONTROL HANDBOOK

Prepared

E G& CAKIN

TRACY OPERATIONS FIELD BRANCH
TRACY. CALIFORNIA

INTRODUCTION

A weed is a plant out of place. Generally speaking when
@ plant in a particular situation lacks economic or
Gesthetic value or is injurious it becomes a weed

Weed control is the practice of teducing a weed population
at a cost commensurate with acceptable standards,
beyond which additional expenditures are warranted
for weed eradication

Ever since man first became interested in managing his
environment he has been concerned with the control of
undesirable plants Few of the old tools he developed
to aid him in this effort are no longer in our present
day tool kit. Handpulling, hoeing, mowing, discing,
burning; grazing and smothering are Practices we still
follow in varying degrees.

Research in weed control was greatly stimulated following
the introduction of 2, 4-D. As a result, we now have
considerable knowledge on which to base a modern
Program of weed control, adding the tools of chemistry
to our tool chest of older practices.

“~ The rules that govern the Proper use of tools applies to
the use of chemicals. One must therefore know their
limits and use the tight ones with care to be safe
The effectiveness of chemicals can be increased
through a knowledge of their characteristics and the
techniques of application

CONTENTS

PAGE
Weed List a-l
Use of Mix and Dosage List A-2
Mix and Dosage Lis’ a-3
Use of Dosage Chart B-1
Dosage Cha:t B-2
Notes on Application Data 8-3
Applicatien Data - TeeJet Nozzles B-4
Application Data — Monarch Nozzles 8-5
Application Data— Truck 20-41 B-6
Tachometer Rating — Truck 20-41 B-7
Nozzle Discharge Data B-8
Estimation of Rig Speed B-9
Precautions and Safety c-1
Extracts from California Regulations c-4
Field Care of Spray Rigs c-6
Basic Weed Con:rol Program c-7
Wo:k Records O-1
Account Numbers O-4
Equipment List o-5
Weights and Measures e-1
Formulas E-3
Weed Oil Tanks E-s
Volume of Horizontal Tanks E-6
Chemical Prices E-8
References e-9

Such factors as toxicity to weeds and crops, man and
other forms of life; types of weeds and thei: environ-
ment; means of application and costs; plus local
tegulations are to be considered in the right chemical
for a given job. Information on these and other factors
can be gleaned from numerous sources but i: becomes
a time consuming chore This handbook presents, in
condensed form most of the pertinent material for
teady use by supervisory personnel and field crews
engaged in chemical weed control work.

While this handbook was designed for use by the field
crews of the Tracy Operations Field Branch of
Region 2, any of the specific data can be revised
by pages, if required for use in othe: areas. Reference
is made easier by printing on the fron: face of each
Page, thus leaving the zeverse face for notes o:
revisions of the subject.

The use of commercial and trade names in this book
does not constitute an endorsement of these products
by the Governmen:.

October 1960



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Fig. 190

161



Rotary Cutters

In the Caballo Reservoir area on the Carlsbad Project, New Mexico,
84-inch rotary cutters similar to that shown in Figure 208 have been
used effectively. Salt cedar up to about 2 inches in diameteris cleared

Fig. 208

with the wheel-type
tractor and mower.
The mower was also
used for cutting the
woody regrowth after
the initial clearing.

On 1,574 acres cleared
by this method, the aver-
age cost was $6, 24 per
acre. The cutting of
regrowth has averaged
about $1.60 per acre on
the 5,160 acres that have
been controlled.

One cutting per year has
been required for ade-
quate control.

Weed and Brush Rakes

Numerous devices have been developed by the operators of irrigation

172

projects to bunch and move
weeds and brush in disposal
operations. Most of the
larger ones developed are
tractor mounted. The rake
shown in Figure 209 is used
on the Columbia Basin Proj-
ect, Washington, for bunching
dry weeds prior to burning.

It consists of a standard bull-
dozer blade equipped with a
frame to prevent the weeds
or brush from overriding the
blade and falling upon the
tractor. The slight over-
hanging lip constructed on
the upper part of the dozer
blade also contributes to
easier handling of bulky
weeds and brush.


Weed Control Handbook

Weed Control Equipment operators have needs for guidelines which
are accurate for their project and which are available on the job.
Such a handbook was devised by E. G. Cakin, Irrigation Agricul-
turist,. Tracy Operations Field Branch, Tracy, California. The
following illustrations from his manual show the type of data which
may be assembled.

The looseleaf format permits assembly of a comprehensive manual
which may be updated each year by adding revisions as well as new
subjects. Less complete handbooks could be completely reprinted
with revisions added each year.

Weed prevention and disposal data could be included in the same
handbook, or as separate instructions. Seeding data would include
species, limitations, dates and rates of seeding, and adjustment
and operation of equipment.

GPO 850862