# Foxtail - When Is It a Problem????



## VA Haymaker

Sold some hay to a customer today, they were replacing a second cutting they got from someone else - that was full of foxtail. One of their horses had some mouth damage and a vet was called in to treat the horse.

I don't recall seeing much, if any foxtail when we made our first and only cut of Timothy, but later in the summer, found a bit here and there.

Help me understand - is it the seed of foxtail that causes the problems, or is it the structure of the head itself that causes damage?

Reason I ask is - if it is the seed only that causes damage, a first cut might contain some foxtail, but harmless as it hasn't gone to seed - unless the physical structure of the head is the root cause of issues?

The buyer showed me picks of the foxtail in her hay had they were loaded with seeds.

Only one of their horses had a problem. The customer also said she was told only certain types of foxtail were to be avoided - never heard that before.

Any info is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Bill


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## JD3430

Foxtail seeds are bad. If you cut it before it heads out, it makes decent hay.


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## Tim/South

My understanding is it is the seed head that causes problems. They wedge between the horses teeth and cause gum problems.

We have 3 types of Foxtail that grow in our area. All three produce a similar seed head. Knotroot foxtail is the hardest to eliminate from a hay field. It is perennial.


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## Vol

You typically do not see foxtail in the first cutting if your hay is composed of cool season grasses as the cool grasses get a jump upon the foxtail and keep it shaded out until after the first cutting....being that foxtail is a warm season grass.

You can mostly eliminate the foxtail if you use a pre-emergent early in the spring before the foxtail germinates.

Feeding foxtail grass is no problem...like stated the seed causes severe gum irritation and is the problem. The equines mouth can get so sore and inflamed that it will go off feed.

Regards, Mike


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## JD3430

So taking the foxtail issue to the next level: 
If I have foxtail emerging after first cutting, but I apply pre emergent to my fields, would my fields be really sparse on second cutting? 
Or would the cool season grasses continue to grow? 
Common sense would be "cool season grasses don't grow when it's hot", so if there's no foxtail (cause I applied pre emergent) and no cool season grasses (cause it's hot), what WILL grow?
Hemp dogbane?? Lol


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## Vol

JD3430 said:


> So taking the foxtail issue to the next level:
> If I have foxtail emerging after first cutting, but I apply pre emergent to my fields, would my fields be really sparse on second cutting?
> Or would the cool season grasses continue to grow?
> Common sense would be "cool season grasses don't grow when it's hot", so if there's no foxtail (cause I applied pre emergent) and no cool season grasses (cause it's hot), what WILL grow?
> Hemp dogbane?? Lol


That is true about the stand density in the later cuttings. That is why it is good to try and keep your stands "thickened up" with no till drilling every 2-3 years....that will definitely help combat weeds. But if the land is not yours and you are just basically keeping it mowed off for the owners then you might want to see if they will allow you to incorporate a good spraying program that would include spraying in early spring with 2-4d and pre-emergent....and spraying again a couple of weeks after the first cutting is taken off to kill the summer emerging broadleaf weeds.

Regards, Mike


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## Hayman1

foxtail free hay in Va is like fescue free hay in Va. like Bill Cosby said-"RIGHT". That said, especially after timothy first cutting you are going to get foxtail. But I also see it elsewhere in other stands of grass hay. True, I don't use the pre-emergent spray Mike is talking about, but my memory of being on my dad's farm as a kid and later on my own-if you did not have foxtail, crabgrass, and red clover in early August, the pickins were going to be sparse. I always cut it before it heads and certainly before it sets seed and have no issues with horse feed or sales to horse people. Besides, if you let it go to full maturity, it is almost as bad as Johnson grass as far as being stemmy and indigestible. cut it early and it is nice and leafy.

In my orchard grass, if i top dress after first and second cutting and get any reasonable rain, I am cutting at such frequency that foxtail is not noticeable, I just know it is there and am ok with that.


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## Missouri hay hauler

Hello all,

I'm new to Hay Talk. Last year my 1st cutting was good but my 2nd cutting mixed grass had a lot of foxtail in it. I had to alert my horse customers and most of them ran to other suppliers. Luckily I had cattle and goat farmers that could feed it without issue.

Are there any recommendations on the best pre-emergent for Foxtail. I've read that Diuron may be a good one for control of foxtail and Johnsongrass to kill the seed. Also Pastora? I plan to try an application this year in the spring. If that doesn't work, I plan to try a burn down/replant in some of my worse fields after 1st cutting. Appreciate any help!!

Thanks

Steve


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## Vol

One of our well experienced members has recommended Prowl H2O for a pre-emerg for FT. ....but as always, thoroughly read the label.

Pastora will kill everything but Orchardgrass and bermuda.....and it will kill Orchard if dosed too strongly.

Regards, Mike


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## Teslan

I battle a type of foxtail every time I plant a new field of grass. Or anything for that matter. It usually shows up on 2nd or 3rd cuttings of a new seeding, but if I get a good stand of orchard/brome the next year it usually won't be there. As well as make sure I cut the grass before the foxtail makes seeds. I learned this last year in my area good irrigation can keep it at bay also.

I had a new 70 acre seeding of orchard/brome. I also had pivot problems so it seemed like I was playing catch up to keep moisture on the field so I would run the pivot a little faster. But I noticed something in August. Where the pivot would have it's issue and stop and water would run on the field all night or a few hours in one spot I had a perfect stand of orchard/brome with no foxtail. Also I have a little valve on the end of the pivot I keep partially open so sediment and sand will flow instead of staying in the pivot. More water comes out of there then normal. So there was a streak about 2 feet wide all around the field that had a perfect stand of orchard/brome and no foxtail. Then there was a place on the edge of the field where the neighbors pivot's endgun or water drift would shoot over onto my field. Again a perfect stand of orchard/brome and no foxtail. So I got to thinking that possibly with more water the orchard/brome was able to grow faster to crowd out the foxtail. The previous tenant had a severe problem of foxtail when I took over the farm and had a poor stand of grass. He would run the pivot quite fast round and round. When actually this farm does better if you run slow to get a deeper soak. The parts of the field that has more sand in the soil also had more foxtail. So I might program the pivot to run even slower over that particular area to give the orchard/brome more water.

Now I know many of the guys on here have to wait for mother nature to irrigate their grass fields, but my experience might give you a clue on why foxtail might grow better some seasons then other seasons.


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## Missouri hay hauler

Thanks all for the advice. I need to build my plan for this season to irradicate foxtail so appreciate all the help.

Steve


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