Cuscuta, Dodder or witches hair....

Well it seems our weather has brought out a couple nasties this year...
I have been doing the usual CDF required weed eat and clearing on properties per my norm and this little hairy viney thingy has been here and there where it has not been before.. :what:
Been doing some research after a client informed me it was parasitic to the grasses... I thought.. well I will do some looking into it when I can .. No biggie. Like the grasses are really under threat here.. Lax I must say for myself.. But hey we have shat loads of grass right?
I came across a field of it today taking out all kinds of brush... Poison oak, grasses, sour berry and deer brush (ceanosis) etc...

Welllllll ... I found it.. lil bugger.. Cuscuta... Nasty sucka... SO I have been asked to brush part of this field.. This stuff is invasive as all get out and will/can take trees too... I am now sterilizing all my equipment as of tomorrow. Advising the client I have to burn the shat... Not chip and also going to recommend he NOT use a dozer to clear with... Inform the Ag commission about it..
Here are a couple sites on it...
Scroll down on this ones page to the dodder...

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plnov99.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuscuta

Anyone see this stuff or have to deal with it before? Your input would be great and I will keep postings as I mess with it...

It's a common site around the LA area. Haven't seen it in any trees yet, though.

love
nick

We used to get that in our tomato fields sometimes. The only way to kill it was to spray the infested area by hand and then after everything dried out we would spray it with diesel and burn it. Alfalfa was also a host, but the cutting every 30 days in the summer was more than it could take. The seed is extremely hard lasting in the soil for many years.

Never heard of it. Thanks for the tip I'll keep an eye out now.

Around here the biggest nasty is Yellow Star Thistle. The local bicycle shop has a jar of it on the counter. The label on the jar says "when business is slow, take contents of jar and sprinkle on roadway". The thorns do a great job of puncturing tires

Found it in the right of ways, quite thick in some places too, but was easy to eradicate for the most part by simply ripping it out or removing the hosts.

Cool ive always wondered what that stuff was .

Forgot to mention that I always saw it along the riverbottom covering some of the cockleburr plants.

Now if we could only get the nasty thing to take out the star thistle

Ok seriously.... Thanks for the input

I think the slash and burn is about how this is going to go down in the field I saw. Then cutting of hosts if it rears it's ugly head again.. Still have to get to the Ag Commission to give them a heads up..
I am running a bit behind schedule this AM as I had a keyboard failure (thought I had a virus or sumtim whew!) Then the printer had a cartridge that was not functioning correctly.. I am trying to print info on this and paperwork for filing leins and small claims for when I run into town...

I will see what the Ag people say about it and bring it on home....
Not trying to derail .. But since Frans brought it up, the Star Thistle has gone nuts up here this year too. Nasty!

Ohhhh....I've seen THAT in the fields years ago. Only once, never since. Strange stuff.

I think the stuff is everywhere around here Stephen.

I would think this is a concern for crops down your way Steve. The Ag Commission said "Thanks.. What was that again?" I gave them pages I printed on my findings. Never seen it like this in 8 years up here Steve.. Maybe just a different altitude is all. I hear it's bad down south and looking on line it is being taken seriously in places.

Like I said it's all up and down the riverbottom so you are never going to wipe it out. Once it goes to seed you're screwed.