Puncture vine

37 chief · Jun 30, 2021

I am sure some of you know what this plant is. If yo don't know. The plant has a very sharp thorny head. It will stick into a tire, or shoe. Then you drive over a rock the thorn is pushed into the tube. If it takes over a field it's a mess. I started out disking this field for years, then mowed it. Since the puncture vines took over, I don't want to do it, and ruin my tires. I have a friend who has a skid steer with a mower in front, and solid tires. He's a young guy just starting out, and can do it. Tell me about our puncture vines. Stan

Naylorbros · Jun 30, 2021

Cutting it does no good. You can either dig every plant out and put them in your garbage can or spray. There are sprays that can control it for a season or plan on spraying at least every two weeks. The best option is not to let it get established in the first place

Absent Minded Farmer · Jun 30, 2021

That's some nasty stuff. Didn't know what it was called when first running across it. So I named the thorny pods stone seeds. Best thing I found to combat them is a good dose of Glystar. A bit on the heavy side. What was sprayed didn't come back & what sprouted the next year was to go the same route. Dead!

Mike

Deutz Lover · Jun 30, 2021

There are a number of vines/plants that can do this. I would really like to see what it is. Greenbriar?

Now there is a vine called puncture vine (Tribulus terrestris). We have Smilex and plum thickets and a few isolated spots of pricky pear that will easily go through a tire or shoe and foot.

kcm.MN · Jun 30, 2021

Did an image search on that and it looks like what I grew up knowing as Grass Burrs. There's probably more than one variety, so maybe what we had in SE Texas is somewhat different?

Naylorbros · Jun 30, 2021

It is tribulus terrestris I am talking about. Another name for it is
goat head. When the seeds are ground up or is sold as an
herbal medicine. At one time you could buy the seeds on
Amazon. Thankfully someone put a stop to that and you can
only buy ground seeds now. I was going to post a picture of
my 8 year old after he fell into a patch of it last yea

David from Kansas · Jul 1, 2021

When I was a kid it was everywhere. Liked to go shoeless but that stuff was horrible. Haven't seen any of it around for years. We controlled it with 2,4-D herbicide, which killed it dead but you have to keep after it for several years to get rid of it. My dad always said it was the invention of the rubber tire that spread it everywhere. I was in western Nebraska about a year ago and the farm we visited had it pretty bad.

GlenIdaho · Jul 1, 2021

Sounds like what we call goat heads. A nasty plant. The seeds can stay in the ground up to seven years before germinating and a plant can produce hundreds of seeds. To clear your ground of it you have to keep up on it and not let any new plants develop seeds. If it develops seeds the best thing to do is pull it up and bag it and rake up any seeds that fall to the ground. 2 4 D works great in killing it. Been working with a neighbor for the last few years who let it get out of control. They start growing in June and we have to spray every one to two weeks depending on moisture. Usually by the end of July they are done germinating. It seems we're getting an handle on it now.

Dave41A · Jul 1, 2021

I had to look it up, too. If it is the goat head plant, it is not native to the US, but got carried over here somehow and spread around. It should be eradicated, just like my state is trying to do with poisonous giant hogweed that someone thought was good to plant because it was pretty to look at.

Puncture vine

37 chief

Well-known Member

Naylorbros

Member

Absent Minded Farmer

Well-known Member

Deutz Lover

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kcm.MN

Well-known Member

Naylorbros

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David from Kansas

Well-known Member

GlenIdaho

Well-known Member

Dave41A

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