Blackgrass

[Gong Farmer]

I cannot believe that if someone has a blackgrass problem that they would consider early drilling.

Do these chemical company's rely on the chemical stack for the early driller to return their investment ?

Agree, better to get 80% of a late October-emerging black-grass population than 95% of a September-emerged one.

 

[jack6480]

Would it not be better to crimp roll bg rather than top and round up??

 

[Mc115reed]

Would it not be better to crimp roll bg rather than top and round up??

Best approach is too wholecrop it, feed the digester

 

[Jo28]

Best approach is too wholecrop it, feed the digester

What would you expect to get as a return from wholecropping it? Just interested

 

[Mc115reed]

What would you expect to get as a return from wholecropping it? Just interested

£1000 acre minimum that’s why everybody feeds the digester

 

[Jo28]

£1000 acre minimum that’s why everybody feeds the digester

I mean for example, I had 20 acres that was full of blackgrass at ear emergence. I have no means to wholecrop the wheat crop, I get someone in to do it all. What would my return be then?

 

[Jo28]

Otherwise at 1000/acre why would I not wholecrop everything? Something doesn't add up as if it did 3.5t/acre at 150 that is only 525.

 

[teslacoils]

They don't want wheat full of BG for the digesters. You'd be lucky to get £250 an acre.

 

[Mc115reed]

Feeding the digester is the only way keep this country going .. we should all be growing for the digester

 

[Wilberforce]

Feeding the digester is the only way keep this country going .. we should all be growing for the digester

And if everyone did, the prices would drop to lowest possible to keep the job ticking along. Never sold an AD crop for more than Wheat money.

 

[jack6480]

Better to plant trees for 15 years and come back to it then than “feed the digester”

 

[Gong Farmer]

AD temps aren't high enough to kill black-grass seeds, so be careful what you do with the digestate.

 

[Mc115reed]

Best way make money out of black grass areas is dig a monster of a lagoon where the blackgrass was and fill it with digest get paid £1 a m3 to take it dig multiple lagoons if needed too keep money coming in too

 

[Gormers]

Badly infested W Wheat
Bale or chop straw?
Will chopped straw slow down germination of BG seeds?
Thoughts please

 

[Brisel]

Baling the straw would take some seed off the field. If you were to go down the route of repeated shallow cultivation to stimulate further flushes you would have less of a sloppy mess on top if it came wet later on.

Leaving the straw would help create a microclimate of moisture around the seed to help it chit. Blackgrass likes darkness to germinate hence the usual recommendation to lightly cultivate after harvest if there is moisture in the topsoil and rain forecasted.

What is your establishment system, soil type, rotation and following crop?

 

[Lincsman]

Badly infested W Wheat
Bale or chop straw?
Will chopped straw slow down germination of BG seeds?
Thoughts please

Critical question is when did you last plough?

 

[Jon]

Badly infested W Wheat
Bale or chop straw?
Will chopped straw slow down germination of BG seeds?
Thoughts please

My thoughts,

Don't cut the wheat until all the blackgrass seed has shed.

Bale or chop , it doesn't matter.

Plough as soon as you can post harvest.

Spray off resulting blackgrass emergence, (I've sprayed off two flushes before Christmas once).

Late drilled spring crop.

 

[teslacoils]

Bale. Bale everything. Get that foul chopped straw off the land.

 

[Gormers]

Baling the straw would take some seed off the field. If you were to go down the route of repeated shallow cultivation to stimulate further flushes you would have less of a sloppy mess on top if it came wet later on.

Leaving the straw would help create a microclimate of moisture around the seed to help it chit. Blackgrass likes darkness to germinate hence the usual recommendation to lightly cultivate after harvest if there is moisture in the topsoil and rain forecasted.

What is your establishment system, soil type, rotation and following crop?

Heavy land with bands of warp in places
Min till.
Osr WW .W Beans. WW .WB .
This field will probably now have to go SB x2 then see what’s what

 

[Gormers]

Critical question is when did you last plough?

8 years ago
Ploughing is one option after spraying off 1st flush