@Adams1978 are the pigeons keeping off the crop ?
Companion cropping OSR
- Thread starter Adams1978
- Start date
Adams1978
Member
On the whole they are keeping off it, but we have got kites and bangers going.
Walking through it all the other day you could only see the odd plant that had signs of pigeon damage.
There are are a few areas thought where the rabbits have grazed it right back.
Adams1978
Member
Trying to decide if to kill off the companion crop or try and keep it as an understory in the rape, currently there is vetch and burseem clover left as the buckwheat died off in the cold.
Has anybody any thoughts on this i.e. is it going to cause a problem at a later date such as harvest etc?
Plan was to use Kerb as I have been told the vetch and closer should survive, we have got a few areas where mayweed could be an issue so was thinking of either Astra Kerb or patch spray with Dow Shield at a layer date
Has anybody any thoughts on this i.e. is it going to cause a problem at a later date such as harvest etc?
Plan was to use Kerb as I have been told the vetch and closer should survive, we have got a few areas where mayweed could be an issue so was thinking of either Astra Kerb or patch spray with Dow Shield at a layer date
Adams1978
Member
The vetch and clover has survived the kerb earlier in the year. Not sure what it will look like when we get to harvest. First photo is from earlier in the year second was taken today
Definitely keep it Iv kept my cleavers and chick weed cover crop
im completely surprised at this .. last year the astro kerb totally wiped out the vetch we had, im also surprised any frosts haven't taken care of the beerseem clover.
Adams1978
Member
We did use kerb flo around the headlands and a few in field spots to take out sow thistle. This did kill the vetch and clover.
Did the pigeons stay of were you had the vetch and clover
I thought I'd jump into this thread as it's relevant.
I would like a companion crop for osr that has a low seed rate so I can fit a few ha in a 65 litre Stocks Rotor Meter already on the back of my drill. It will be metered into the airstream with the osr seed and sown 20mm deep. I really need to apply clomazone pre em for hedge mustard and cleavers. I could put the osr in the Stocks if the companion is at a much higher seed rate and goes in the main hopper. I tried vetch & berseem clover a couple of years ago in the small hopper as a trial which did ok but no pre em and I was stopping to refill every 2 ha.
I was thinking of straight buckwheat as a sacrificial companion that will be killed by the first frost or Astrokerb applied in December. I've yet to find a companion species that would make it past the pre em is beans. The Astrokerb would certainly knock that off but it's expensive and I have none in stock.
Any ideas?
I would like a companion crop for osr that has a low seed rate so I can fit a few ha in a 65 litre Stocks Rotor Meter already on the back of my drill. It will be metered into the airstream with the osr seed and sown 20mm deep. I really need to apply clomazone pre em for hedge mustard and cleavers. I could put the osr in the Stocks if the companion is at a much higher seed rate and goes in the main hopper. I tried vetch & berseem clover a couple of years ago in the small hopper as a trial which did ok but no pre em and I was stopping to refill every 2 ha.
I was thinking of straight buckwheat as a sacrificial companion that will be killed by the first frost or Astrokerb applied in December. I've yet to find a companion species that would make it past the pre em is beans. The Astrokerb would certainly knock that off but it's expensive and I have none in stock.
Any ideas?