- Location
- Ceredigion
I've been using mcpa on them off and on for 40 years. They come back after 18 month or so as it does not totally take the roots out . Roundup will
Rushes
- Thread starter 6891tmc
- Start date
Boohoo
Member
- Location
- Newtownabbey
Are you sure they’re coming back from roots and not the soil seed bank?
- Location
- Mid Wales
Yes control plots, I only did one pass but it was to rough to go much faster than 2-3k so I felt I didn’t need to.I had the wiper pumping most of the time, I also had cheap fairy liquid with me obviously to clean the dishes after lunchPerfect, thank you. The missed bits are in fact, "Control Plots" as we all know
Was that a single pass with the wiper? I can remember using a C-Dax 25-30 years ago in beet or thick bogs of thistle, and needing two passes.
- Location
- Ceredigion
40 years worth of seed
livestock 1
Member
I was told that the rush seed will stay dormant for 60/70 years in some cases. So ploughing and topping can add to seedbank
What I have noticed is that where wheel marks are they have pretty much died. That’s sprayed or just with fert application. I did wonder if it was worth a trial roll and spray?
Break stems let chemical in down to root? They are slippery buggers
What I have noticed is that where wheel marks are they have pretty much died. That’s sprayed or just with fert application. I did wonder if it was worth a trial roll and spray?
Break stems let chemical in down to root? They are slippery buggers
There must be something to flattening them, remember years ago tracking through heavy rushes to clear out a ditch in an 8t digger, where I tracked back and forth took years to get back to as thick as it was before.
- Location
- Ceredigion
Poor management here
Sold the dairy herd in 93 and changed from intensive farming to dog and stick sheep farming. Land had been intensively drained in the 70ts
livestock 1
Member
It’s wetter for longer now too. That doesn’t help. One contractor said they even appeared in his garden which he’d never seen before.
livestock 1
Member
One spray man used to recommend rolling thistles before spraying he said it broke the stems and chemical got straight down to root faster
livestock 1
Member
I remember having a lot of poor land in the early 80s. Some of it father bought. He put 4t acre of mag lime onto it and 2/3 cwt acre of tsp. That altered it
- Location
- South Lanarkshire
Rushes are one weed which do not like fert or dung if possible after a mcpa spray a coat of both defo helps in our area south lanarkshire they are a sign of land slowly being allowed to degenerate ,even farms where years ago were intensively farmed and not a rush to be seen are now becoming covered
Noticed that here. Once we stopped using fertiliser rushes came in thick and fast
Generally speaking they don’t like to be farmed hard, but really I think most classes of stock will graze them when they are at a very young seedling stage, after all they are a type of grass. However they will be less palatable then other species but if you force stock to eat them through high stocking rates then they don’t recover well. Once they get established though it’s an uphill struggle.
Just about to do that. To be fair the rushes are just starting to make their presence known so they're currently not a big problem but I would rather catch early.
Soil analysis showed our mag levels are off the numbers so they're binding the soil up and affecting the drainage - you can't plough orchards very often so we're going gypsum, aerator and small surface shakerator to try to open it up. Better work because we've got moss and all sorts now! :-(
livestock 1
Member
I’ve sprayed a lot last spring which are now dead. Should I give them another dose this time?
Useless spraying dead stuff! Like kicking a dead donkey. Cut or graze and leave to rot. Spray green regrowth.
livestock 1
Member
Can’t cut them really as it’s too rough and nothing will graze them as they are too established
Spray man reckons either cut them first and spray them or spray them and leave them.
A lot of grassland spraying is most successful with 2 consecutive applications over 2 years
livestock 1
Member
What’s interesting is where tractor has been even on land that hasn’t been sprayed rushes are dead where wheel marks are when we put fert on. Hence the thought of rolling then spraying
nature is wonderful eh.