Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-05-17
COMBATING THE
RUSSIAN THISTLE
(By Prof. Thos Shaw

III WOulu seem Sdle 10 say lndb uO |
weed is more harmful at the present |
time to the agriculture of the North
western states than the RussiOn thistle.
1t harms the crop by crowding it in
some instances to such an extent as to
render it not worth harvesting. Its
presence also adds greatly to the labor
of harvesting, especially when the
gorwth made has been strong. 1t also
gives much trouble in summer-fallowed
lands and cultivated crops by the strong
and rapid growth whith the plants make
on these in the latter part Of the grow
ing season.
The farmer is in a sense defenseless
against invasion from this plant. That
is one of its worst features. 1t is al
most impossible to fence against it,
owing the the ease with which it is
carried with the wind. Our demon
stration farm at Elgin, N. D., is sur
rounded with woven wire fence. The
fence is five feet high. In the summer
of 1912 part of the land inside was
summerfallowed and keep quite clean.
At this date april 27th) the young
Russian thistles are abundant on this
land and are from one to two inches
high. These come from the seed that
was scattered during the winter. More
than once during the winter did the
thistles pile up outside of the fence
until they, along with the snow that
drifted in, formed an inclined plane as
high as the fence over which the thist-
les that came later rolled with ease,
scattering seeds as they went. In
other instances the dried thistles would
be caught up into the air by gusts of
wind and carried right over the fence
without touching it. The most regret
full feature is that the land which may
be ever so clean by the farmer one
season may be re.seeded again with
thistles before any crop is planted on
it the next season. Until the farmers
make common cause therefore against
this weed it will not be exterminated.
What then can be doneY The best
that can be done at present is to man.
age the newly sown grain so that the
thistles may be prevented from doing
it any serious harm. This can only be
done by judicious use of the harrow
and weeder on the grain crops until
after the grain has reached the stage
when it will overshadow any thistles
that may germinate later In dry
seasons. especially the thistles will be
greatly harmful to the grain unless
they are in some way checked.
How is their growth to be checked
in the grain9 By the judiciOus use of
the harrow and weeder. The harrow
alone may suffice. The same is true
of the weeder. But usually the two in
combination will give better results
than either alone The procedure in
many instances will be in outlined as
follows: First, the harrow should be
run over the ground as soon as the
grain begins to appear, giving The
teeth a backward slant during the op
Grafton. This will stir the entire sur.
face of the ground and will destroy
the thistles that arc just starting
Second, when the grain is 2 to 3 inches
high the weeder will he used instead Of
the harrow to avoid burSing the grain
Third, use the harrow again when tho
grain is to inches high. The idea
is to prevent the thstles from getting
a start until the grain will Overshadov
= them. In some instances the abov,
i procedure for various reasons must b,
modified.
: The thistes can also be prevente,
J from doing harm in alfalfa. On th
Elgin demonstration farm the disk wa
run twice over the alfalfa crop on Apri
U 2Sth The second time it was drive
/ across the rows. The disks cut full
: 1.2 inches deep and stirred The whOl
s. surface of the ground The youn
thistles just starting in myriads wer
Ii thus uprooted. On May lst the Gro
e was narrowed Before the weeds coin
. on again the alfalfa plants that wei
" practically unharmed by the discinI
; will overshadow the next growth Of th
thistles After the first cutting of u
alfalfa the crop may be similarly trea
ed. In this way the thistles may
prevented from doing any harm in Il
alfalfa except the frs year that it
sown, The harm the first year may
minimized by the sowing of the ere
late rather than early.
The time to fight Russian thistles
just when they are starting. If II
molcsted, in a short time the roots vi
have such a hold that the harrow h
weeder, the disk or the cultivators VI
not be able to dislodge them.
The editors and Others who are a
vising farmers to encourage the grow
of Russian thistles to provide food I
live stock should be placed where tn,
cannot do any more harm.
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