Docks worse than ever this year?!

Andrew1983

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Black Isle
I sprayed a few fields last year but have them back worse than ever this year! Minstrel was the spray, cheap but it appears to be a waste of time and still knocks the grass. Really didn’t want to have to spray this spring mainly because I don’t want to stunt the grass growth when it’s costing so much to grow and really don’t want to kill clover! Problem is beyond spot spraying.

Will dockstar knock grass? I know it will kill clover but I would drill that in again if I was sure of a good kill.
 

milkloss

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
I sprayed a few fields last year but have them back worse than ever this year! Minstrel was the spray, cheap but it appears to be a waste of time and still knocks the grass. Really didn’t want to have to spray this spring mainly because I don’t want to stunt the grass growth when it’s costing so much to grow and really don’t want to kill clover! Problem is beyond spot spraying.

Will dockstar knock grass? I know it will kill clover but I would drill that in again if I was sure of a good kill.
ive never heard of fluroxypyr knocking grass back, never had that experience myself to be honest. If docks aren't a real problem for you then consider forefront (not for silage ground though ;)..... just make sure no forage or dung leaves the farm if it mistakenly gets used on cutting ground). Doxstar is the next best thing but is still fluroxypyr with an added poke of triclopyr.
 

24/7 farming

Member
Location
Donegal
Have used Eagle on docs before, checks grass a bit but is safe for clover, god dang expensive tho, if it can even still be got. bwas a field of new grass that exploded with docs after the first year, done a good job tho, but they really need attacked over a few years to get any decent results.
Father always reckons we had no docs before built a slatted tank and started using slurry!
 

spin cycle

Member
Location
north norfolk
Doxstar has checked the grass when I’ve used it.
Have had fairly good results with Squire ultra but others said they haven’t..
it'll be the triclopyr in doxstar that stunts the grass cos fluxocrap is in envy and can be used in new sown grass,,,,,minstrel is pure fluxocrap

squire is interesting one.....amidolsuferon :scratchhead: ......same as eagle for cleavers in cereals
 

Sheep

Member
Location
Northern Ireland
Always had good results with fluroxypyr to be honest, but it is VERY dependent on what growth stage you get the docks at.

I had a 4 ac field that was absolutely covered in docks last year, I hit them at the right stage after cutting with Fluroxypyr and got a near-complete kill. Had a little bit of spot spraying to do after the next cut, then a top up of spot spraying this year.
 

will6910

Member
Location
N.i
Strange that sheep irradiate docks rapidly… Iv probably 5 docks across all my
Land… thistles and nettles however 😅
Plenty off nettles to. I blame the hen muck personally. Tho some fields haven’t had a drop for years and there’s docks on them this year and never saw before on them
 
Docks need to be sprayed twice two years running to get rid of them, or to have any chance of getting rid of them. If you do them once it’s a waste of chemical as they will come back again then you are back to square one. I have used dockstar pro at half rate spring then next spring or a spring and autumn combination with some success. Pretty much a battle that can’t be won with trying to improve fertility of soil and carting seeds back out in the muck again
 
Docks need to be sprayed twice two years running to get rid of them, or to have any chance of getting rid of them. If you do them once it’s a waste of chemical as they will come back again then you are back to square one. I have used dockstar pro at half rate spring then next spring or a spring and autumn combination with some success. Pretty much a battle that can’t be won with trying to improve fertility of soil and carting seeds back out in the muck again

Big infestations will need two goes as you say.

It is better to keep the things out of a ley if at all possible but I accept that you get a bit of bare dirt now and a again through hoof prints or the like.

To be fair, grassland spraying is still quite cheap but rotating the fields around with a bit of wholecrop etc is a surefire way to get rid of perennial weeds once and for all.
 
Big infestations will need two goes as you say.

It is better to keep the things out of a ley if at all possible but I accept that you get a bit of bare dirt now and a again through hoof prints or the like.

To be fair, grassland spraying is still quite cheap but rotating the fields around with a bit of wholecrop etc is a surefire way to get rid of perennial weeds once and for all.
I can’t really plough most of what I have so it’s a war I’m willing to play for a draw or improvements if they aren’t too bad I just leave them
 

merino

Member
Location
The North East
I can’t really plough most of what I have so it’s a war I’m willing to play for a draw or improvements if they aren’t too bad I just leave them
If you sprayed off the sward with glyphosate, direct drilled some sort of forage something or other in then sprayed off the stubble of that with glyphosate again you would be most of the way there.

Good timing in the rotation for the muck too.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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