If cheatgrass is part of the understory, plowing should be done in the spring before it sets 

 seed; otherwise, plowing merely plants the cheatgrass. 



Other mechanical methods of eradication have been used successfully under certain con- 

 ditions. Root cutters or root plows work well on rock-free sites to kill sagebrush and such 

 root -sprouting plants as rabbitbrush. Railing and chaining are useful in tearing out old brittle 

 brush, but they are ineffective on flexible young shrubs. Going over the same swath a second 

 time in the opposite direction greatly increases the brush kill. Brush piled by railing and 

 chaining can be burned to facilitate drilling. 



The self-clearing pipe harrow is excellent for eliminating small brittle sagebrush in 

 areas too rough or rocky to be plowed and for covering broadcast seed. 



Rotary cutters and brush beaters effectively kill taller brush but leave young or low-lying 

 shrubs and herbaceous plants undamaged. Cutters are most valuable to kill brush and thus to 

 release desirable understory forage plants from competition for moisture and light. 



WEEDY TYPES IN THE SAGEBRUSH ZONE 



Cheatgrass, medusahead, Russian-thistle, halogeton, mustards, and other annual weeds 

 occupy millions of acres of southern Idaho rangelands, mainly as a result of plowing and 

 abandonment, burning, overgrazing, or other treatments that have killed part or all of the 

 sagebrush and other native vegetation. These aggressive annual plants must be removed to 

 obtain a clean seedbed before perennial grasses are planted. 



Species to Seed 



Species to seed on these weedy sites can be selected from those recommended above for 

 similar sites on sagebrush lands. 



Site Preparation and Seeding 



Cheatgrass, a winter annual, is eliminated by treatments that prevent seed formation. 

 Spring tillage , before seeds ripen, gives good control for one growing season. This is usually 

 long enough to allow perennial grasses to become established. In years having enough fall 

 moisture to assure good germination of cheatgrass, planting sites can be disked after fall ger- 

 mination. These sites can be plowed thoroughly with a moldboard plow whenever soil moisture 

 conditions permit, since practically all the seed will be buried several inches deep. 



Burning in early summer, before seed dispersal, has controlled cheatgrass the following 

 year sufficiently to permit good establishment of perennials. For complete control, cheatgrass 

 must be burned early, while still red- -just before the tan color becomes prominent. Consider- 

 able litter from the previous year's growth is needed to help carry the fire this early in the 

 season. If winter or spring germination is not complete, holdover seed is not damaged by an 

 early fire. 



Accidental summer burns destroy newly fallen seed if the fires are very hot; such clean, 

 complete burns assure well-prepared seedbeds. Burns should not be planned for summer be- 

 cause they vary greatly in results and needlessly expose the soil to danger of erosion. Early 

 bums, on the other hand, leave a thin turflike stubble as a protective ground cover. 



Sandberg bluegrass competes strongly with planted seedlings and is little harmed by early 

 fires; so considerable bluegrass in the cheatgrass cover indicates the need for some kind of 

 ■ tillage before seeding. 



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