- Location
- Ceredigion
Got a topper going flat out while it's dry, when to spray and what with, someone said today spray the cut crowns straight away, madness or brainwave ??
Exterminate/ Rushes
- Thread starter Derrick Hughes
- Start date
- Location
- Ceredigion
I may be full of shite but I ain't got any spare
what do you spray them with there seems a lot of them about after the very wet year we have had been topping them but does not seem to make much effect on them
ianw
Member
- Location
- east yorkshire
I'd say spray it ft,problem is all the dam seeds in the soil will be germinating soon and growing some more for you
Recoil
Member
- Location
- South East Wales
I'm sure someone said only lazy farmers got rushes growing in their fields.
no that's their pants
spanners
Member
- Location
- Ceredigion
Mcpa
Dave6170
Member
- Location
- Watten, caithness
Yeah mcpa in june/july when they are growing fast. Will work well on new growth since you have topped it. We sprayed last year and we can only now notice a difference now!
ianw
Member
- Location
- east yorkshire
Paraquat.
Aye, cheapest there is, and it works, though long term, you canny whack working drains.
IANTO
Member
Rushes are normally a sign of poor drainage.
Apparently the seeds can lie dormant, in the soil for a hundred years or more, and germinate when the conditions are right.
Have had the same problem myself, in fields that had been clear for 50+ years, when the ancient tile drains collapsed.
Topping and Spraying is treating the symptoms, rather than the cause.
They will keep reappearing until you sort the drainage.
spanners
Member
But if you keep treating the symptoms you will eventually get all the seeds germinated and killed?
Roundup and weed wiper is the best, mcpa wont kill the root
thanks drainage is going to be sorted it is a fairly steep field but i will hit them with round up and see what happens
multi power
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
we have been over this on old bff before, as said already drain, lime, reseed n plenty of muck
as derrick said rushes are a weed of the lazy farmer
as derrick said rushes are a weed of the lazy farmer
multi power
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
no you need to treat the cause not symptoms
- Location
- Ceredigion
I have been rather lazy, but we had a big push when drainage grants were the norm they have come to end of life and a good few years of ranch farming sheep have taken their toll, needs a big investment to do it right I know
IANTO
Member
Contrary to the popular perception, reeds in my experience grow where there is a depth of soil (normally with underlying clay), which has been brought into production, some time in the last 500 years.
There are thousands if not millions of seeds, dormant in the soil, which will keep germinating year after year.
If you are prepared to spray year after year for say the next 50 years, carry on.
If you do not tackle the root cause, which is collapsed drains, the affected area, will simply get bigger and bigger, until the whole field is covered in rushes.
In the long term, it is cheaper to bite the bullet, and tackle the cause, rather than treat the symptoms.