Hand Pulling, Mowing and Tilling

Hand Pulling

Hand pulling, grubbing, and hoeing may be practical on small populations of oxeye daisy and if it is applied persistently can reduce populations. Pulling and grubbing must remove as much of the rhizome as possible to be effective. Follow-up treatments will be necessary where a persistent seed bank or rhizomes exist. Competition and shade will reduce the re-growth of oxeye daisy where manual control is used.

Mowing

In a 28-year study in northern Europe, annual mowing with removal of hay resulted in an increase in oxeye daisy abundance. Mowing with hay removal may favor oxeye daisy by decreasing soil nutrients and reducing a shading canopy. It is recommended that mowing be combined with nutrient management and herbicide management if it is used on pastures infested with oxeye daisy. Mowing at the bud stage of development may reduce seed production, and a British study suggests mowing before seed set may reduce dispersal. Before an herbicide application, mowing may improve herbicide contact with rosettes.

Tilling

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

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Last Modified: 03/20/2008