The land where we are growing tea was heavily overgrown when we bought it. Despite working the land for the last 6 years we have a few types of trees that refuse to die. These trees come up from the roots no matter how many times you chop them down even chopping up the creeping root vines that they spring from. They are quite impervious to roundup as well. at least they have been sprayed often enough and they never seemed to flinch. 

Ideas?

I use salt mixed with vinegar and a bit of dish soap.

12 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I use salt mixed with vinegar and a bit of dish soap.

Thank you.

How was it applied?

You answered your own question....."These trees come up from the roots...."

 

You have to dig the roots out with a backhoe. I've cut down and dug up around 200 rubber trees. No sign of them growing back yet.

Cut away the water sprouts! Please see: 

 

10 minutes ago, grollies said:

You answered your own question....."These trees come up from the roots...."

 

You have to dig the roots out with a backhoe. I've cut down and dug up around 200 rubber trees. No sign of them growing back yet.

It is a steep and terraced hillside, about 13 rai. Can't get equipment in, and it would be too hard on the tea anyhow.

Why not let the tea coexist with the trees?

9 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

Cut away the water sprouts! Please see: 

 

Well, I am inclined to agree, but it's been years of hacking them down with brush cutters. I supposed if I focused on a certain area I could hit it more often and be more successful and then move on. But I was hoping for a more devastating option, like, kill them instantly.  These aren't trees with a stump and suckers growing from the stump. They pop up wherever they like from these ropey vine-like roots that criss-cross the area. If you leave them one season, they are two or three meters tall the next. 

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Why not let the tea coexist with the trees?

I have hundreds of wild trees that I have pruned and let coexist with the tea, its great shade cover, but you can't keep them all. They pop up right beside the tea and crowd it out. The jungle is fierce.

1 minute ago, canuckamuck said:

I have hundreds of wild trees that I have pruned and let coexist with the tea, its great shade cover, but you can't keep them all. They pop up right beside the tea and crowd it out. The jungle is fierce.

In that case, fire and sword. I'd recommend trying copper sulphate crystals on exposed roots.

Be interesting to see some pics

Get e a free quote from a professional: http://www.treeremoval.com/tree-cutting/tree-roots/#.XQI4D1z7SNE

4 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Be interesting to see some pics

Could you eventually remove them with a tractor by pulling them out with a chain? 

16 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

In that case, fire and sword. I'd recommend trying copper sulphate crystals on exposed roots.

That's more like it. I think I even know where to get that.

16 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Be interesting to see some pics

I'll be hacking away at some tomorrow. Hopefully, I will remember to take some pics.

A stump grinder may do the trick.  I would not use chemicals in a field for growing food or tea.

I got rid of some by drilling a bunch of holes in the top of stump and filling with salt, kept full for a week or two and they never grew back.

1 hour ago, canuckamuck said:

Thank you.

How was it applied?

1 liter soda bottle punch some holes in plastic top.

Just give the trees a  damn good  talking to!!

2 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

Well, I am inclined to agree, but it's been years of hacking them down with brush cutters. I supposed if I focused on a certain area I could hit it more often and be more successful and then move on. But I was hoping for a more devastating option, like, kill them instantly.  These aren't trees with a stump and suckers growing from the stump. They pop up wherever they like from these ropey vine-like roots that criss-cross the area. If you leave them one season, they are two or three meters tall the next. 

If you can cut them with a grass strimmer they cannot be that big, a photo of them might help, can you pull any out and expose the roots, being a vine the roots should be just under the surface ?and use say lopping shears to cut them at the  roots,  that should stop them from spreading .

Not an easy job, but after 6 years, they will be well at home, can not see any chemicals working, mechanical means only.?

You say root vines.

Try 2-4d instead of roundup.

In US there's a product called "Crossbow" which is a very good woody plant herbicide.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Dow-Crossbow-Herbicide-Brush-Killer/dp/B004TGNLJ8

 

Check out the formulation and there may be something similar available in Thailand.

8 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

They are quite impervious to Roundup as well.

You are growing tea and using poisonous Roundup? Let us all know what brand your tea is so we can avoid the poison.

 

As for the trees, man has chopped down too many already, damaging the ecology of the planet.

2 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

You are growing tea and using poisonous Roundup? Let us all know what brand your tea is so we can avoid the poison.

 

As for the trees, man has chopped down too many already, damaging the ecology of the planet.

The roundup was for the weeds, not the tea. We were not spraying our tea. That wouldn't be very clever. But FYI, we made a decision last year to quit using roundup entirely. It seems to create more weeds in the long run. That and the fact that Monsanto is evil.

As for cutting down trees, Tea is a tree and we have planted many thousands of them in an area that was previously slash and burn farming for corn production. On top of that, we have many wild trees amongst the tea. Our field is absolutely teeming with birds and other creatures, where our neighbour's lands are quiet and treeless.

9 hours ago, farmerjo said:

You say root vines.

Try 2-4d instead of roundup.

I don't know much about 2-4d, I remember it from when I was a kid on the farm, but I have never used it. Does it kill on contact like roundup, or does it kill through the soil? It might be a bad thing to use near tea trees. But if a spot application will take out the targeted trees, it would save me a ton of work.

what did the tree ever do to you?

4 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

You are growing tea and using poisonous Roundup? Let us all know what brand your tea is so we can avoid the poison.

 

As for the trees, man has chopped down too many already, damaging the ecology of the planet.

Forget it. India as one of the largest tea-producing nations on earth regulary uses chemical herbicides for weed control including glyphosate, paraquat, 2-4d, ad nauseam....

 

Recent studies show glyphosate for example is present in your beer, wine, Cheerios ad infinitum...

 

There are people out there using manual methods of weed control together with heavy mulching. Look up permaculture, a very interesting topic but one as yet supposedly not able to apply to commercial farms. But in the US things are slowly changing and commercial farmers are starting to use no-till, cover crops and mulch as a way of weed control, soil improving, reducing soil erosion, etc.

 

Until theee is a sea-change amongst the worlds farmers we will continue to eat chemicals with our food, even organically-grown.

 

 

31.Weedmanagementintea.pdf

50 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

I don't know much about 2-4d, I remember it from when I was a kid on the farm, but I have never used it. Does it kill on contact like roundup, or does it kill through the soil? It might be a bad thing to use near tea trees. But if a spot application will take out the targeted trees, it would save me a ton of work.

Spot spray on the leaves,will take a couple of days.

If you can mix a wetter(they call it sticky here) with it to help it stick to the plant for better performance.

Also check out adjuvants to add(ammonium sulphate) to make the brew Hotter and more effective.

Anyone know if we can get Arsenal (imazapyr) in Thailand. 

It seems you can use it to hack and squirt to kill trees. That would be the easiest.

10 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

Anyone know if we can get Arsenal (imazapyr) in Thailand. 

It seems you can use it to hack and squirt to kill trees. That would be the easiest.

Could you learn to co-exist with the flora and fauna of this world? Or perhaps you could spray yourself with this stuff.