Management and Identification of Northeast Texas Plants Toxic to Livestock

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Management and Identification of Northeast Texas
Plants Toxic to Livestock
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Toxic Plant Catogories

• Situational Drought, Freeze, etc.
• Seasonal Seedhead, plant parts
• Chronic constantly toxic

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Situational

• Soil fertilizer levels excessive nutrients in
  the soil taken up by the plant and consumed by
  the animal
• Soil pH
• Nutrient level
• Copper
• Selenium
• Molybdenum
• Environmental conditions
• Nitrate
• Prussic acid
• Grass Tetany

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Nitrate Toxicity

• Aerated soil
• Nitrate uptake by the plant
• Limited nitrate utilization
• Nitrate accumulation
• low growth rate
• lower stems and leaves

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Prussic Acid

• Dhurrin Emulsin
• neither are toxic
• react to form HCN
• Reduced plant growth rate
• drought, freeze, trampling damage, etc.
• breaks down rapidly in the plant
• evaporates quickly
• Young, tender leaves
• upper most leaves
• most palatible

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Grass Tetany/Milk Fever

• Calcium imbalance
• high calcium/magnesium demand (animal)
• mineral supplementation
• Cold wet soils
• early spring
• limited Ca and P movement
• Temperate grasses
• small grains
• fescue and other cool season grasses

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Management tips

• Avoid over fertilization
• Manures
• Soil pH
• Manage crop for optimum growth
• proper fertilization, grazing, etc.
• Remove suspect plants from feed and other
  enclosed areas
• a hoes your best buddy

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Seasonal

• Often plant reproduction oriented
• ergots (seedheads)
• tannin acid (acorns)
• aflatoxin (grains)
• Specific time of year
• Plant part specific

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Ergot

• Dallisgrass, Small grains (Fescue)
• Minimize Seedhead production
• overgraze early
• limit fertilizer (N) to early vegetative growth
• Fescue July to January
• Dallisgrass April to June
• Small grains Fall to March
• Dilutionclovers, other grasses, non toxic hay

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Aflatoxins

• Drought induced
• Seed quality
• trash
• Affects all agronomic crops
• corn sorghum
• soybeans peanuts
• Dont allow animal access to suspect areas
• Dilute with clean feed to acceptable levels

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Chronic

• Constantly toxic
• intake limited by animal reaction
• generally not a problem
• examples buttercup, milkweed, nightshade family
• Cumulative effect
• slow response period
• multiple factors (photosensitivity)
• examples fescue, sweetclover

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Management techinques

• Animal
• Proper stocking rate
• dont overgraze
• match gp to plant pop
• Match animal class
• dry vs wet momma
• calf vs cow
• sheep-horse-cow
• Acclimatize slowly
• no hungry animals
• adequate feed
• Proper supplement

• Plant
• Proper fertilization
• no dumping
• proper balance
• timing
• Crop Mgmt.
• Limit damage
• stock movement
• Dilution
• Weed control
• Plant identification
• careful with hormone
• timely control

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Identification of toxin

• Note animal symptoms
• Survey the site
• note grazing locations
• feed and mineral bunks
• identify and note location of plants
• collect and press suspect plants if possible

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Common toxic plants
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Johnsongrass

• Warm season perennial grass
• Tall growing, stolons
• Toxins
• Nitrate
• Prussic acid

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Tall Fescue

• Cool Season Perennial grass
• Moist lowland area
• Seedhead mgnt.
• Dilution
• Toxin
• alkaloid
• vasoconstrictor
• late term animals
• young (april)

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Pigweed

• Annual broadleaf
• Disturbed areas
• Multiple control
• mulch, herbicide, hoe
• Toxin
• nitrate

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Bitter Sneezeweed

• Annual broadleaf
• overgrazed fertile site
• Multiple control
• Toxin
• Dugalidin
• Sheep most susceptable

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Dallisgrass

• Warm season, perennial grass
• moist, clayey site
• Seedhead Mgmt.
• Toxin
• Ergot Alkaloid
• nervous system
• cattle mainly

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Nightshade familySolanum sp.

• Warm Season perennial broadleaf
• Distinctive flower
• 5 sided tomato type
• groups of 3-7
• Difficult to control
• Limited toxicity
• Toxin
• Solanine Alkaloid

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Buttercup(Ranuculus sp.)

• Cool season broadleaf
• clayey, fertile wet sites
• Distinctive metallic yellow flower
• Limited intake
• Toxin
• Alkaloid

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MilkweedAsclepias sp.

• Warm season, perennial broadleaf
• Rhizomitous tap root
• multiple species
• latex sap
• Toxin
• glycoside

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Jimsonweed

• Annual broadleaf
• Disturbed sites, feedlot, etc.
• Multiple control
• herbicide, mulch, hoe
• toxin
• alkaloid

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Goatweed

• Annual broadleaf
• prolific seed producer
• Multiple control
• mower
• herbicide
• Toxin
• alkaloid
• seed site toxin