Many ranchers may believe invasive mesquite to be this indestructible foe. Though not the super-powered denizen of other worlds, mesquite over time has proven itself a formidable archenemy to ranchers.
Raymond Doskocil has root plowed and ripped up Central Texas mesquite forests to the tune of about 100 acres a year for more than three decades, and he still has no shortage of clients nor scarcity of trees to mechanically grub.
Even with the latest chemical techniques, Doskocil, owner and operator of a highly successful commercial bulldozer and root plow service, believes there always will be a market for the mechanical side of the operation: digging a foot down and tugging its roots from the soil.
Mesquite took pertinacious root in Milam County turf a half-century ago when row crop land became pastureland, said Jon Gersbach, Milam County agent for ag and natural resources with Texas AgriLife Extension.
“A lot of what we get into today is 20-year re-growth stuff. It has been cutoff and shredded down, and re-seeded,” Gersbach said.
The ongoing turf war between ranchers and invasive thorny mesquite yields one finding: controlling this brush is not a one-time job, because livestock and wildlife do an excellent job of spreading seeds, and the plant propagates itself with branch and root cuttings.
“In the case of mesquite beans, they go through the digestive system of animals, and the bean is planted in its own little bed of the most fertile soil you can imagine. There is moisture, nutrients, and all it needs for that young seed to get off to a great start,” said Gersbach.
Texas A&M’s Brush Buster Web site offers techniques to control, not kill out, mesquite. The key is perseverance.
“Putting it nicely, it’s a pain in the back,” asserts longtime rancher E.J. Provasek of Cameron, “because you are going to have to grub it or spray it.”
After battling mesquite infestation for nearly 30 years on a 66-acre pasture, Provasek advised, “You have to keep on top of it. You can completely eradicate it and you think you’ve got it, but a mesquite seed can lay in the ground 30 years and still come up. Birds and animals carry the seeds in. If you don’t pay attention to it, the next thing you know you’ve got a good stand of mesquite.”
Milam County mesquite seemingly is worthless other than a rootstock of exasperation to ranchers, or those who make their living eradicating the thickets.
Trunks and branches are too small to interest wood crafters, and the woody plant is a real touch-me-not with barbs capable of puncturing truck tires.
Texas A&M University brush control experts recommend the three-step method for mesquite control, which involves spraying a small but potent concentration of herbicide directly on each plant. The three-step way is “easy, inexpensive, environmentally responsible and effective.”
Results may vary with weather and other conditions, but seven out of 10 mesquites should be knocked out, the Web site stated.
There also is a two-step method designed for mesquites with a few well-defined stems or trunks coming out of the ground. The leaf spray method may be effective for trees that are less than 8 feet tall.
Gersbach and Dr. Barron Rector, brush specialist with the extension service, have been working the past two years on a demonstration test plot to control prickly pear cactus and mesquite. In November, when the test plot reaches its critical two-year milestone, the results should be clear whether the chemical treatment of Remedy is successful. Older plants can literally seal out herbicides with their tough bark, while the chemical has shown marked success in stamping out the younger growth, Gersbach said.
Aside from inspiring Western art, making rustic furniture and flooring material, cooking a batch of spicy mesquite-bean jelly or fueling an aromatic barbecue fire, the plant’s value is questionable to those in agriculture.
Lowly mesquite prevails among Texas A&M University brush control experts as one of the world’s toughest, most invasive wild shrubbery, flourishing across the western two-thirds of Texas in rural pastures and urban lots. There exists a few fans of the plant, Gersbach said.
“I think people may have an appreciation for it because it’s very hearty,” said Gersbach. “I know yellow jackets like it, cattle and deer like it. Find a barbecue place, they might tell you they love it, but they love it dead.”
Gersbach recently paid a premium $80 for a quarter cord of mesquite he wanted for grilling steaks at a county agent’s retreat. But mesquite is far too prolific to eliminate through barbecuing, even with Texans’ love of the extraordinary taste mesquite delivers to a smoky entrée. Even with the best public relations team working, it is unlikely the masses ever would learn to appreciate mesquite in spite of its inherent hardiness and shade tree qualities, Gersbach said.
