Stevens County Noxious Weed Control
Board This web site will help
you identify & control noxious weeds. Conventional & biological control
(BioControl) information and photographs are here. Maps & related
information are included.
Leaves are ½-2" long, alternate, narrow, lance-shaped with
hairy margins & undersides
Stems are round, usually softly hairy & often red-tinged
Inconspicuous flowers form dense spikes in leaf axils
Flowers are usually surrounded by cluster of long hairs
Short, upper flower spikes often
nod
Biology and ecology
Tap-rooted summer annual; reproduces by seed
Seeds are generally only viable for 1 or 2 years
Flowering and seed production from July through October; several
flushes of seedlings per season
Native to southern and eastern Russia
Common in Western US in cultivated fields, gardens, roadsides,
ditchbanks and waste areas
Readily grazed by livestock although it sometimes contains high
nitrate levels and can be toxic
A serious economic problem in crops
Drought resistant but does well under irrigation
Old plants spread seeds while tumbling
Control
Prevention – Learn to identify
plants; know your property; control kochia along fencelines and roadways
to reduce seed scatter by tumbling plants
Biological – No known biological controls
Cultural – Competitive vegetation helps avoid invasion and winter
wheat withstands kochia better than spring wheat
Mechanical – Grazing and mowing will not stop seed production or
kill the plant which will resprout from the stem; pull, hoe or cultivate
to kill kochia; shallow tillage helps force seeds to sprout or decay
Chemical – Several effective at label rates, but kochia is often
resistant to triazine & sulfonylurea herbicides; rotating herbicides
with different modes of action helps prevent resistancedevelopment.
The
PNW Weed Management Handbook does not have kochia listed for specific chemical recommendations
close up of flowers & hairy leaf margins
mature plant, but rather small
kochia seedlings can form a solid
mat
large, reddish bushes in the Fall
Where found -
Limited numbers of plants but widely scattered distribution in Stevens
County; mainly along roadsides, railroad, parking lots, gravel pits and
piles, other highly disturbed sites.
