Increased Ragwort counts

[Haytime]

I’ve recently been out checking the hay & haylage fields for ragwort before cutting. But this year I’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of ragwort plants to normal.

To be different this year, I spread 4 out of 5 fields within a block with rotted horse manure over winter. But even the field that was left out had a huge amount of ragwort compared to the handful of plants it normally has. So surely mucks not the issue?

3/5 of the fields were also sprayed 2 years ago, again they’ve gone from very little to huge amounts. But a neighbour also had his sprayed at the same time, yet very little ragwort in this field this year again?

My only idea is that the storms that we had over winter have blown seeds from neighbours uncared for fields (that there are many of round me), any other suggestions why?

 

[spin cycle]

if these fields are only ever cut then eventually you'll get ragwort ...especially if nutrient levels fall......some ragwort sprays work against them selves....burning the top before translocating to root thus you can get a false impression of control

my sheep regularly get out....last year i thought 'feck it'...left them to roam our horse paddocks that had some ragwort......this year zilch ragwort.....a hay field i only ran autumn store lambs on still has some

i concluded you need a full spring/summer grazing with sheep for good control

 

[Nearly]

Ragwort is a biennial.

If field was sprayed 2 years ago then it has grown and flowered since then.

 

[Haytime]

Ragwort is a biennial.

If field was sprayed 2 years ago then it has grown and flowered since then.

It was sprayed 2 years ago, so this will be the third cut since and every year I hand pick the few that remained. So nothing got to flower from then.
Ragwort numbers were reducing each year until now.

 

[Haytime]

if these fields are only ever cut then eventually you'll get ragwort ...especially if nutrient levels fall......some ragwort sprays work against them selves....burning the top before translocating to root thus you can get a false impression of control

my sheep regularly get out....last year i thought 'feck it'...left them to roam our horse paddocks that had some ragwort......this year zilch ragwort.....a hay field i only ran autumn store lambs on still has some

i concluded you need a full spring/summer grazing with sheep for good control

They are only ever cut for hay then left for the rest of the year. Muck did go on this winter however.

I’ve tried to attract someone to winter graze sheep but always get messed about. Either saying they will bring and never do, or pulling out last minute so it’s then too late.

 

[spin cycle]

They are only ever cut for hay then left for the rest of the year. Muck did go on this winter however.

I’ve tried to attract someone to winter graze sheep but always get messed about. Either saying they will bring and never do, or pulling out last minute so it’s then too late.

thats your problem i'm afraid and winter grazing isn't much use anyway......IMO you need a proportion each year grazed spring/summer by sheep

there's a particular breed ....IIRC called 'norfolk hurdlers' that are particularly good at the job...if only i could remember the guy that breeds/sells them

 

[Goweresque]

There's only one solution to ragwort, and thats pulling it by hand each and every year, without fail. And constant monitoring of fields or areas that have shown propensity to have a problem. Most of the common grassland herbicides do not kill ragwort, they just burn the top off, and prevent you seeing it at the point of mowing, so you think the field is clear. When in reality some of the plant will have been included in your forage and the root will regrow later in the year. The only spray that will make a clean kill on ragwort in just about every growth phase is Forefront, and thats restricted to use on livestock grazing land only, so no good for forage land.

Even if you manage to make a complete clearance I'm convinced that the soil in areas that have neighbouring ragwort populations has a large dormant ragwort seed bank, and in suitable weather conditions some of those seeds will germinate, and you can end up with an infestation seeming out of nowhere. For example if conditions under foot are a bit damp, and your tractor tyres are making marks then that slight soil movement can be enough to expose a dormant seed and start its germination. And a damp summer would also be perfect for those seedlings to grow strongly.

I've never had any luck with sheep reducing ragwort, but I've only ever had autumn/winter tack sheep on the land for fairly short periods on each field. I think @spin cycle is right, for sheep to clean out ragwort you need them on the land for a long period, through the whole growing season.

 

[ollie989898]

Ragwort has to be sprayed at the correct growth stage. Pulling it out or reseeding are potential alternatives. Forefront will work if you have serious infestations.

Thrust works ok if done at the right time and used properly at a stiff rate.

 

[Goweresque]

Ragwort has to be sprayed at the correct growth stage

And therein lies the problem, ragwort has a 2 year life cycle, so chances are whenever you spray it there will be some present at the wrong stage for the spray to make a clean job. I think the optimal strategy for spraying would be pull everything prior to mowing (which needs to be done late so as to let it flower), then spray the regrowth to catch the rosettes and any newly germinated seedlings, then spray again in the spring to catch any thing you missed the autumn before. Spraying just once IMO won't work.

And of course there's also the issue of what sort of ragwort you have - the strategy for common ragwort is different from that for hoary ragwort, which is a completely different type of plant.

 

[Dry Rot]

I think there's an assumption that ragwort spreads when it goes to seed, i.e. there is a definite seeding time. But that's not what I've found. Even when every flowering plant has been pulled, there will still be some plants that flower later and these produce thousands of seeds.

Also, I seem to remember reading that ragwort seeds remain viable in the soil for at least 20 years and they will germinate whenever a seed bed is created by both moles or rabbits or some other physical damage. A neighbour told me one of my fields (about 5 acres) used to be yellow with the stuff before I came here. It is pretty much under control now but it has taken 40 years of hand pulling, digging out, hand spraying, and a few years with sheep!

 

[ollie989898]

And therein lies the problem, ragwort has a 2 year life cycle, so chances are whenever you spray it there will be some present at the wrong stage for the spray to make a clean job. I think the optimal strategy for spraying would be pull everything prior to mowing (which needs to be done late so as to let it flower), then spray the regrowth to catch the rosettes and any newly germinated seedlings, then spray again in the spring to catch any thing you missed the autumn before. Spraying just once IMO won't work.

And of course there's also the issue of what sort of ragwort you have - the strategy for common ragwort is different from that for hoary ragwort, which is a completely different type of plant.

I'd agree with this, it has a variable flowering habit and seems to pop up at random sometimes. A crop of wheat or perhaps would be the kiddie then reseed behind it.

 

[Goweresque]

Even when every flowering plant has been pulled, there will still be some plants that flower later

The later flowering plants could well be hoary ragwort, it definitely flowers much later than common ragwort. The latter flowers second half of June into first half of July, the former starts in mid to late July and can still be flowering well into August or even September.

 

[Montexy]

I always hit them with roundup - spot spraying and get 100%, hit them at rosette stage, walk the fields every week. My problem is I have a lazy neighbour who will not do anything to control them, their fields look like osr by July it's a loosing battle, seem to be spending more time spraying every year.

 

[steveR]

And therein lies the problem, ragwort has a 2 year life cycle, so chances are whenever you spray it there will be some present at the wrong stage for the spray to make a clean job. I think the optimal strategy for spraying would be pull everything prior to mowing (which needs to be done late so as to let it flower), then spray the regrowth to catch the rosettes and any newly germinated seedlings, then spray again in the spring to catch any thing you missed the autumn before. Spraying just once IMO won't work.

And of course there's also the issue of what sort of ragwort you have - the strategy for common ragwort is different from that for hoary ragwort, which is a completely different type of plant.

100% I used to spray a lot of pony paddocks and for a successful operation, I recommended at least 2 spray passes with 2,4D. If I was contacted early enough in the year, it would be Spring rosette stage, then again in the back end. This leaves the field hand pullable in most cases. One time, I went again in the Spring, this was next to a new road which had generated massive Ragwort issues

 

[steveR]

I always hit them with roundup - spot spraying and get 100%, hit them at rosette stage, walk the fields every week. My problem is I have a lazy neighbour who will not do anything to control them, their fields look like osr by July it's a loosing battle, seem to be spending more time spraying every year.

Call DEFRA!!! Seriously....

 

[Montexy]

Call DEFRA!!! Seriously....

Yes, been thinking about it, it's just a PIA as from that moment onwards we both fall out and become enemies.

 

[steveR]

Yes, been thinking about it, it's just a PIA as from that moment onwards we both fall out and become enemies.

As I recall NE (who do the investigation) do not have to say wher their info came from...

 

[roscoe erf]

Ragwort has to be sprayed at the correct growth stage. Pulling it out or reseeding are potential alternatives. Forefront will work if you have serious infestations.

Thrust works ok if done at the right time and used properly at a stiff rate.

ive had a lot of success with barrier h before