Controlling dodder in alfalfa hay calls for an integrated procedure

Dodder is a troublesome parasitic weed in alfalfa hay fields. Pre-emergence treatment with trifluralin controls dodder early in the season, but as the season progresses, control declines. Flail mowing escaped dodder patches in midseason followed by burning in late season, when dodder seed was being produced, was found to be an effective, integrated control procedure.