Stinking Mayweed (Anthemis cotula)

Provided by Dow AgroSciences

Stinking mayweed is an annual that grows up to 40cm high and flowers from December to March. Flowers are white and yellow and 15-30mm across. Leaves are feathery and dark green, grow up to 8cm long and are divided three times into awl shaped segments. The very distinct smell obtained from rubbing the foliage makes mayweed easy to identify.

Mayweed is common throughout the North Island and the northern half of the South Island. It appears in farmyards, holding paddocks, roadsides, disturbed ground, waste places and pasture. Mayweed germinates strongly when pasture is cultivated for either a crop or renovation in the autumn or when pugging has occurred during the winter.

Stock will actively avoid the plant and nearby pasture.

Stinking Mayweed plant just
past ideal time to spray

Control

Broadcast spraying in pasture

The treatment of choice is Preside* herbicide at 65gm/ha. However, mayweed must be sprayed as very small seedlings (rosettes about the size of a 50 cent coin) or suppression only can be expected.

Preside is both grass and clover friendly so can be used on newly sown pasture when clover has 3-4 true leaves.

Preside will also control other weeds not controlled by Select and MCPB herbicides - such as hedge mustard, annual and giant buttercups, field chickweed, spurrey and willow weed, and will provide very good suppression of oxeye daisy.

Always add Uptake* Spraying oil when spraying with Preside.

Spot spraying in pasture

Mature flowering Stinking Mayweed

Versatill* or Tordon* MAX will both provide very good control of stinking mayweed when applied as a spot spray. For knapsack spraying use Versatill at 25ml per 10L or Tordon MAX at 6ml/L per 10L. Both products are grass friendly but will remove clovers from the sward.

For further information contact Dow AgroSciences (0800 803 939) or you local Dow AgroSciences representative.

* Registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences.