Milkweed Research Paper

Animals usually only eat milkweed if there is nothing else available to eat as it is unpalatable. Make sure to keep plenty of food available for the animals in order to avoid them eating the milkweed. Usually you will see milkweed poisoning when milkweed has been baled in with normal hay. You can reduce losses in livestock by: Controlling milkweed in infested fields, keeping milkweed plants out of stock driveways and not feeding hay known to be contaminated with milkweed. You may also want to make sure that adequate amounts of uninfected hay are available for the animals.

Herbicide control may be very difficult due, mainly, to two physical characteristics of the milkweed plant. The herbicides may stick to the milky, white sap that the plant produces decreasing the effectiveness of the chemical and
It is slow to absorb and transport the chemical at this time due to the little growth and movement of carbon and/or the nutrients from the leaves to the roots. Chemicals are more effective on actively growing milkweed. There are three chemicals that have been proven as effective on showy milkweed. These are, 1) amitrole (Amizole-T), 2) picloram (Tordon), and 3) glyphosate (Round-Up). Also, 2, 4-D may be mixed with picloram and glyphosate. Each one of these chemicals is better for different circumstances. Amitrole may be applied when the milkweed is 6-10 inches tall at 6 pounds of active ingredient per acre. Commercial use of this product is restricted, but it can be purchased in in different formulations for household use. This product is not registered for grazing or crop land usage. At the bud to early bloom stage of milkweed you may use picloram, a restricted use herbicide. This may be applied at a rate of 2 quarts per acre. Picloram may also be mixed with 2, 4-D if you reduce the amount of picloram used. Picloram is very toxic to broadleafed plants, may stay in the soil for over a year and can