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Hi everyone:
I=B4m writing from Ecuador. We have good dark volcanic soils in
temperate
climate areas. We tend to see a lot of dock showing up in areas where
cattle round up to sleep. I don=B4t know if this happens due to the
localized compaction or due to the high manure concentration. Dock is
also visible in paddock areas close to the barns or roads where there is
a higher effluent concentration. Cattle has no problem eating it when
it=B4s very young when it=B4s supposed to be very low in tannins. We see
its
palatability reduced as it grows older. We thought it was associated to
a rapid increase in tannins concentration. In some cases it becomes very
aggressive and grows very fast taking over important areas in our
paddocks. Where it takes over we don=B4t get any grass or clovers to
grow
because the broad leaves shade the area rapidly (there might be other
reasons we don=B4t know about). In those areas the soil becomes loose
and
washes off when it rains hard. The leaves show a very healthy and rapid
development when the fertility is high and the area receives a lot of
Nitrogen. We have tried adding different minerals to the plants to
understand what it respond to. The better more visible responses are to
lime. When we add lime around the plants, the leaves tend to become weak
and thinner and don=B4t look so green and healthy. We haven=B4t been
able to
reduce dock infestations by liming. The amount of forrage we get in the
dock patches is less than ryegrass + clovers, and our main problem is
related to the loose soil that will wash away in the rainy season. Those
areas are very sensitive to =93pugging=94 (we call it mudding) when we
have
to graze under wet conditions. It spreads be seed. The plant produces a
large seed head easy to grab it you want it. I think the seed is viable
in a high %. It establishes well in grazed paddocks even when new have
short rotations (21 days).
We consider dock a pest when it becomes too aggressive and overtakes
large areas from our paddocks.
It would be interesting to know better what it responds to so we can
manage its populations in our paddocks.
Carlos Batallas
Quito, Ecuador
Soth America
cbatall@uio.satnet.net
Thank you Ian for the web site info. I have searched and searched for
such a site for years. I keep a herd of cattle on nature reserves in GB
where there is a huge variety of non-grass forage and I have always
wanted to know the mineral composition of these plants.
Incidentally, Dock leaves have always been an effective remedy here in
GB for stinging nettle stings, everyone has memories of childhood,
getting stung and rushing to find Dock leaves to crush and rub on the
offending rash! I'm not sure that North America has the same plant, it
is also eagerly sought by cattle, but usually eradicated from pastures.
Thanks
Mary Holloways
----- Original Message -----
From: ShortyB <mailto:siesta@ihug.co.nz>
To: graze-l@witt.ac.nz
Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2004 2:52 AM
Subject: RE: [Graze-l] 'Dock'??
Dick
I wouldn=92t exactly call it a forage crop. Not like broadleaf plantain,
(Plantago major) which the powers that be they have now decided is a
beneficial crop. Biodynamic farmers have known this for some time 8>)
But not old Mr Dock.
For those interested the web site www.ars-grin.gov/duke has info on many
plants and their mineral properties and other attributes.
Ian Buckingham
Maungatawhiri
New Zealand
Ian, Can you begin to appreciate how 'shocked' I am to have never heard
of this forage variety? Your visit is a treat that both Carol and I am
looking foward to. E-mail to reality!
Dick Conklin
Amity Farm
Ft.Ann,NY
