Puncturevine belongs to the family of flowering plants “Zygophyllaceae” in the Genus “Tribulus" It is a summer annual broadleaf herb that grows only in warm temperate and tropical areas. It's on the list of the most aggressive and hardy invasive species in the US. Moreover, it is a noxious weed due to its woody fruit having three-dimensional prickles that often stick under the shoe's sole. Puncturevine not only injures livestock but, a great menace for farmworkers as well. Usually, it grows up to an elevation of 3300 feet above sea level.
Puncturevine is native to the MENA region, North Africa, and the Greater Arabian Peninsula, besides warm temperature areas of Pakistan, India, and China. Now it grows across the US other than central and South America. Puncturevine spread aggressively in California in the 20th century, and northward spread makes it a noxious weed in some parts of British Columbia. In the US, Puncturevine grows along roadsides, Vineyards, walkways, and other dry and compacted soil areas where little horticultural maintenance attention is paid. Moreover, it is a common pest on the margin of garden beds and poorly maintained turfgrasses.
Puncturevine forms dense mats growing close to the ground, which, are often 3 to 5 feet in spread. The stem emerges from a dominant point from its taproot. Otherwise, the Puncturevine branches don't produce roots to anchor the plant. The hairy leaves are oppositely arranged to each other with four to eight pairs of leaflets. Flowers are showy yellow measuring, about half an inch, and leaf axis containing five petals. After the pollination completes in Puncturevine, a seedpod develops containing five spiny burs. The seedpod at maturity turns grey, and woody burs separate from the pod. Woody burs penetrate tires, clothing & shoes, livestock feet & furs, and disperse to nearby locations.
Puncturevine germinates from the seed both in spring and summer. Moisture is required for germination only in a hot summer climate. Once the germination completes, Puncturevine’s deep taproot helps it grow in a dry summer climate. Newly germinated Puncturevine starts flowering from the 3rd to 5th week that continues throughout summer. The seeds produced in the same year could probably remain dormant up to the spring. However, they remain viable for up to five years or more. Puncturevine can't survive the usual winter temperature and often dies before that. Puncturevine will produce around 200 to 5000 seeds during one cropping season, and each one of them is ready to grow in the coming year when conditions are ideal.
Hand pulling a Puncturevine plant is feasible in the early spring. It only contains leaves, So, the hand pulling keeps the gardeners' injury free. Be sure to water your turfgrasses at least 24 hours before practicing a hand pulling so that taproot also remains the part of the plants' foliage. Generally, the 4 to 5 leaf stage is the best for this practice. Otherwise, repeated mowing is the ultimate solution.
Weed Stopper is typically for garden beds and orchards and can't help you with the turfgrasses in spring. However, if the application is planned for the fall, it could potentially help. Weed Stopper active ingredient Trifluralin (43%) forms a layer around the seed coat of Puncturevine to stop their germination and remain active for the next five months. It can help you control the initial infestation that begins in Spring.
Adding 1.5 ounces in 1 gallon of water can target a 500 square feet area of garden beds and turfgrasses.
Roundup Quick Pro comes in a pack, each containing 5-sachets. This is combination of Glyphosate (73.3%), and Diquat Dibromide (2.9%). Glyphosate is a slow starter and takes 10-12 days to kill weeds but, this combination uses more of its percentage than its usual ingredient ranges 41 to 48%. So riskier and more health concerns are associated with this combination. Diquat, on the other hand, burns the foliage within 24 hours of its application if, the temperature is higher. It's better to dedicate an individual container for mixing the sachets in water and no other solution of any type made in that.
Each Sachet weighs 1.5 grams that are for mixing in one gallon of water. Target only the patios, walkways, and corridors where you don't maintain any other plants.
Turflon Easter, with its active ingredient Triclopyr (60.45%), is Specially formulated to control Puncturevine and other broadleaf weeds in cool-season turfgrasses that grow actively. It can't stop weeds that are yet to germinate from the seed. However, a repeated application could probably help. The desired interval between the first and second application is 3-weeks. Avoid watering lawns for the next 3-days once you apply it on turfgrasses. Also, monitor surface temperature, as applying it above 90°F may harm some desired vegetation as well.
For dilution, add 1 ounce of Turflan Easter in a gallon of water and target 1000 square feet approximately.
This concentrate mixes four different broadleaf weeds controllers, and their cumulative mode of action is direct foliage burning and penetration to the root zone. 2,4-D, Dicamba, Mecoprop-p, and Carfentrazone all together are excellent against Puncturevine and all other broadleaf weeds in both warm and cool-season turfgrasses except a few strains. The best application time is when the targeted weeds develop 4 to 5 leaves.
Some weeds will burn within 72 hours of application, while some others may take around 12 days. However, Puncturevine takes 3- days if it is in a 4-5 leaf stage. Add only 1 ounce of concentrate in one gallon of water for targeting 1000 square feet area of turfgrasses.
Learn How to control and get rid of other weeds in our complete Yard Weeding Guide.
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