Cost of individual tree herbicide treatments for hardwood management

Hardwood management using herbicide treatment is an effective tool for use in many hardwood operations. Techniques such as basal bark, cut stump, tree injection, hypo-hatchet, hack and squirt, and the herbicides labeled for these applications are commonly used in hardwood management. The decision to which method should be used is dependent on the following factors: equipment availability; size, number, and species of trees that need to be killed; time of year; and whether valuable crop trees are located in the stand. The per acre cost of these herbicide treatments is a product of the number of treated trees per acre, size, chemical cost, and the application time of the treatment. It is helpful to standardize costs based on the application time and herbicide amount required to treat one square foot of basal area to determine and compare treatment costs.