🌿 Weed
ANX-WEED-0000257
Common Cocklebur
Xanthium strumarium
Common Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium), an annual broadleaf weed of the Asteraceae family.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Growth habit
- Broadleaf
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Invasive status
- Naturalized, widespread; toxic to livestock at the seedling stage
- Native region
- The Americas, now naturalized worldwide.
- Reproduction
- Seed, enclosed in a spiny bur that attaches to animal fur/clothing for dispersal.
Environment
Habitat & Growing Conditions
- Habitat
- Cultivated fields, riverbanks, disturbed ground.
- Climate requirements
- Warm temperate; thrives in full sun.
- Soil types
- Prefers moist, fertile soils but tolerates a range of conditions.
Impact
Crops Affected & Economic Impact
- Affected crops
- Soybean, maize, cotton, groundnut
- Competition impact
- Large broad leaves shade out crop seedlings; seedlings and seeds are toxic to livestock and pigs if ingested.
- Economic impact
- A major broadleaf weed of soybean and cotton production, and a livestock poisoning risk at the seedling stage.
Management
Control Methods
- Control methods
- Early cultivation before the deep taproot establishes, and preventing bur formation before harvest.
- Organic control
- Hand-pulling or hoeing while young, before the taproot is established.
- Chemical control
- Post-emergent broadleaf herbicides; some ALS-resistant populations have been reported.