Hand Pulling, Mowing and Tilling

Hand Pulling

Hand pulling, digging, grubbing, and hoeing may be practical on small populations of common tansy and if applied persistently can reduce populations. Pulling and grubbing should remove the rhizome to be effective. Follow-up treatments will be necessary where a persistent rhizomes and seed banks exists. Seeding soil disturbances with competitive plants may help reduce re-establishment of common tansy.

Mowing

Mowing, if applied before bloom, will reduce flowering and seed production. It is recommended to mow to a four-inch or greater stubble height to maintain the vigor of native and desirable plant species which may replace common tansy over time with repeated mowing. Mowing after flowering when seeds have set may increase the spread of common tansy seeds. Mowing can be used to reduce litter cover before herbicide application and thereby increase herbicide contact with foliage when applied to re-growth.

Tilling

Common tansy is not normally a problem in cultivated crop fields because it is controlled by tillage procedures that clean crop fields of weeds. However, because the rhizome has regenerative buds, it is possible to spread common tansy within a crop field and between fields. Seeds are also believed to be spread with the movement of soil. Repeated tillage or an application of glyphosate to common tansy plants that regenerate from rhizomes or seeds following tillage will reduce common tansy spread on tilled fields. Cleaning tillage equipment of soil that may contain seeds or rhizomes is recommended after use on fields where common tansy has been growing and before use on weed-free fields.

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Last Modified: 02/26/2008