Spraying gets off to an early start

UK - March 09, 2011

Spring has come earlier this year than last, and April will be an ideal month for controlling docks, thistles and nettles in grassland, as they should be in the perfect stage for spraying.

Maintaining early spring grass growth is vital for farmers who want to maximise silage yields. Encourage your customers to use modern translocated herbicides such as Doxstar or Thistlex. These products do not hold back grass growth, and move down into the roots to affect a more thorough kill than products based on phenoxy chemistry.

Follow spray guidelines
Dow AgroSciences has developed the PRIDE guidelines to ensure your customers gain maximum benefit from using herbicides.

• Product - Use the right product for the target weed eg Doxstar against docks; Thistlex against thistles.
• Rate – Apply the correct rate of product in the appropriate water volume. The rates have been carefully calculated and tested for optimum control; for example Doxstar should be applied at 3litres/ha.
  Skimping on water volumes is also false economy – particularly when spraying in dense crops where grass overshadows the weed leaves. Use at least 300litres of water/ha in most situations, and up to 400litres/ha in thicker swards.
• Information – Discuss with your customers their planned cutting dates and post-treatment use. They should allow at least three weeks between application and silaging, so that the herbicide has time to work its way down into the roots before the leaves are removed by mowing. Timing can be quite tight when treatments are applied between first and second cut.
• Density – Assess the size of infestation. If docks make up more than 5% of the field, a broad-acre spray will be cost-effective.
  Translocated products should be applied when the weeds are actively growing and at the rosette stage – docks about 25cm high or across, thistles 20cm high or across.
• Environment – Consider the state of the target weeds before spraying, as well as the wider environment in which the weeds are growing.
  For best results, weeds must be healthy and free from disease and insect attack and not suffering stress from drought, frost or water-logging. This allows maximum uptake of the spray.

Herbicides should always be used with due regard to the environment and at the correct distance from watercourse, ie never sprayed within one metre of a river bank.