Protecting Biodiverse Rangeland and Pasture Landscapes
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Prairies and grasslands are among the world’s most ecologically important landscapes. These wide-open spaces provide nutrition for livestock and habitats for wildlife. These lands sequester millions of tons of carbon in their soils and are home to hundreds of species of grasses, trees and herbaceous flowering plants called forbs. They are also places of great beauty, appreciated by the ranchers and land managers who care for them and millions of tourists drawn to their sweeping vistas.
When weeds encroach on these areas, they create more than an eyesore. They choke out diverse, desirable vegetation that helps feed animals and preserve soil. Some weeds are invasive, replacing important native plants and changing the ecosystem. To keep these lands healthy and biodiverse, ranchers and land managers need options to control weeds across large areas without damaging other plants.
Managing weeds, preserving desirable vegetation
Rinskor™ active is a new herbicide active ingredient available for use in range and pasture settings. It works in a way that is both selective and convenient, to control many species of troublesome weeds while minimizing environmental impact and helping to preserve biodiversity.
Rinskor is part of the synthetic auxins group of chemistry, classified in the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC) Group 4, but it works differently from other herbicides in this category, working in a unique way on its target binding site in weeds. This makes Rinskor highly effective at lower use rates than other commonly used herbicides and minimizes impact on desirable vegetation, including grasses.
To better understand the effects of Rinskor on desirable vegetation, researchers in the U.S. studied the application of DuraCor® herbicide—a combination of Rinskor and aminopyralid—on 65 species of forbs. Results showed the vast majority of these wildflower species were not susceptible to the herbicide. This gives ranchers and land managers more confidence that when they use Rinskor, they won’t also eliminate desirable vegetation along with weeds.
Convenient to use
Rangeland and pasture areas can be enormous, measuring several thousand acres, and often covering varying terrain. Ranchers and land managers may only be able to treat some areas once per year, or even once every few years, which makes lasting control important. In the U.S., ranchers and land managers are finding success using DuraCor® herbicide with Rinskor™ active to gain long-lasting control that captures nearly 150 different species of weeds. Rinskor can also be applied in situations where other herbicides can’t. It can be applied right up to the water’s edge along rivers and is safe to use around trees when used according to the label. And unlike other herbicide options often used in rangeland and pasture settings, Rinskor has low volatility and high sorptivity to soil, which helps ensure the ingredient stays on target where it’s applied.
Weed control: 1 year after treatment1
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These images demonstrate that DuraCor herbicide, which contains Rinskor, helps control weeds over long periods of time. In this case, the weed species common mullein is still under control one year after treatment.1
Maintaining biodiversity and restoring lands
By choosing herbicides that help maintain desirable plants, ranchers and land managers can also help restore lands that have become less biodiverse or are choked out by weeds. In the western U.S., use of selective active ingredients such as Rinskor™ active has helped facilitate more biodiverse landscapes where desirable vegetation is nourishing big game such as elk. Biodiversity also helps make these areas more resilient in the face of climate stress and natural disasters, particularly wildfires. Where the land is biodiverse and full of desirable plants, weeds also have less opportunity to take root, contributing to easier management and less need to use herbicides.
For ranchers and land managers, active ingredients such as Rinskor that help combat weeds and preserve landscapes can, over time, enable rangelands and pastures to become more self-sustaining, ensuring they remain resilient, biodiverse places that are good for animals, people and the planet.
Learn more about Rinskor active
1 Corteva Agriscience. Field observations. Data on file.
Label precautions apply to forage treated with DuraCor® herbicide and to manure and urine from animals that have consumed treated forage.
Under normal field conditions, DuraCor is non-volatile. DuraCor has no grazing or haying restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy cows, horses (including lactating mares) and meat animals prior to slaughter.
When treating areas in and around roadside or utility rights-of-way that are or will be grazed, hayed or planted to forage, important label precautions apply regarding harvesting hay from treated sites, using manure from animals grazing on treated areas or rotating the treated area to sensitive crops.
DuraCor is not registered for sale or use in all states or countries. Contact your pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your area. Always read and follow label directions.