Horsetail control - the ultimate challenge: can you hack it?

摘要

Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) is often a problem in rough areas of golf courses where the extent of management varies greatly from site to site. Although ubiquitous, the presence of horsetail is reportedly more frequent in links courses. Management of the rough often involves mechanical cultivation and this will undoubtedly exacerbate the spread of horsetail via its effective vegetative propagation. Equisetum arvense once established is a difficult plant to control due to adaptations such as the siliceous stem, which is quite impenetrable, the vast and easily separated rhizome system and the ability to re-establish from small pieces of parent material. The recovery of E. arvense from fire is also very good due to its deep-rooting nature. Despite its widespread occurrence, no consistently reliable method of control has as yet been identified. The control of horsetail using cultural and chemical methods is also discussed.