Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 June 2017
Picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid), 2,4,5-T [(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] and dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) were sprayed at 0.28 kg/ha on honey mesquite [Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC. var. glandulosa (Torr.) Cockerell] and huisache [Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd.] seedlings 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after emergence from seed under greenhouse conditions. Picloram or 2,4,5-T killed 73% or more of the honey mesquite up to 8 weeks after emergence, but the percent killed declined thereafter. Picloram killed more than 90% of the huisache seedlings when applied from 1 to 8 weeks after emergence. Less than 60% of the honey mesquite or huisache seedlings were killed with dicamba at any treatment date. Clipping the plants at the soil level resulted in high mortality (96 to 100%) of both species 1 to 2 weeks after emergence. Treating regrowth of clipped 1-year-old honey mesquite and huisache with 0.28 kg/ha of picloram, dicamba, or 2,4,5-T produced results similar to those obtained from plants grown from seed.