Soil-active herbicides were investigated for control of live oak (Quercus virginiana Mill.) on the Texas Coastal Prairie and Claypan areas with and without mechanical treatment. Roller chopping before, during, or after herbicide application had very little influence on mortality of live oak compared to the herbicide applied alone. Roller chopping did allow increased grazing of livestock for at least 3 yr after knockdown of the brush. Tebuthiuron {N-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-N,N′-dimethylurea} was generally the most effective herbicide for live oak control; bromacil (5-bromo-3-sec-butyl-6-methyluracil), karbutilate [tert-butylcarbamic acid ester with 3(m-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea], and picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) were somewhat less effective, especailly at 2.2 kg/ha. Limited data suggested that hexazinone [3-cyclohexyl-6-(dimethylamino)-1-methyl]-1,3,5-triazine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione] also was highly effective for control of live oak. Primary invaders on either mechanically or chemically treated areas were American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana L.), southern dewberry (Rubus trivialis Michx.), boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum L.), yankeeweed (Eupatorium compositifolium Walt.), brownseed paspalum (Paspalum plicatulum Michx.), and carpetgrass (Axonopus affinis Chase). A herbicide was generally equally effective for live oak control whether applied broadcast or in rows as granules, or applied as sprays to the soil surface or subsurface.

Seven herbicides were applied to the soil surface or subsurface for control of honey mesquite [Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC. var. glandulosa (Torr.) Cockerell] and Macartney rose (Rosa bracteata Wendl.). Liquid formulations were applied in bands about 1 cm wide, 1.2 m or more apart, and granule or sphere formulations were applied on the soil surface either broadcast or in rows 1.2 m or more apart. On honey mesquite, karbutilate [tert-butylcarbamic acid ester with 3(m-hydroxy-phenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] and tebuthiuron {N-[5-(1,1-dimethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-N,N′-dimethylurea} were the most effective herbicides with subsurface spray injections being generally more effective than surface applications. On honey mesquite, differences among row spacing treatments with liquid, granule, or sphere formulations of karbutilate were generally either small or insignificant. Roller chopping reduced the honey mesquite canopy but did not influence the percentage of plants killed by karbutilate at rates of 4.5 kg/ha and below. Bromacil (5-bromo-3-sec-butyl-6-methyluracil), diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea], picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid), prometon [2,4-bis(isopropylamino)-6-methoxy-s-triazine], and 2,3,6-TBA (2,3,6-trichlorobenzoic acid) generally were ineffective as soil treatments for controlling honey mesquite. Of all the herbicides evaluated on Macartney rose, only picloram at 4.5 kg/ha and tebuthiuron at 2.2 and 4.5 kg/ha, as soil treatments, killed a significant number of plants.

Under unsaturated-flow conditions, bromacil (5-bromo-3-sec-butyl-6-methyluracil) was considerably more mobile than buthidazole {3-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-4-hydroxyl-1-methyl-2-imidazolidinone}. Because of their high water solubilities, both herbicides were much more mobile than atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine), prometon [2,4-bis (isopropylamino)-6-methoxy-s-triazine], or diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea]. Under saturated-flow conditions, buthidazole was leached through Lakeland loamy sand in slightly greater amounts than tebuthiuron {N-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-N,N′-dimethylurea} or CN-10-3510 (formerly VEL 3510) {1-β,β-dimethoxyl-1-methyl-3-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3, 4-thiadiazol-2-yl] urea}. Distribution of the three herbicides in the leached soil was similar and relatively uniform. In Lakeland loamy sand, 30 times as much tebuthiuron was leached under saturated-flow conditions as under unsaturated-flow conditions. Intermittent saturated-unsaturated-flow conditions resulted in four times as much leaching of tebuthiuron as unsaturated flow alone. Only one-tenth as much tebuthiuron leached under intermittent saturated-unsaturated-flow conditions as under saturated-flow conditions. Tebuthiuron added to Lakeland soil and oven-dried was retained in significantly greater amounts than when added to moist Lakeland soil. Low amounts of tebuthiuron leached through Lakeland loamy sand, Portsmouth sandy loam, and Rains silt loam, but high amounts leached through Davidson clay. Greater amounts of the herbicide were retained in the surface zones of the three former soils, but the inverse was the case for the Davidson soil.