No till and black grass

[kamloops]

We are in the early stages our new no-till system.
I have a field with a moderate level of black grass, not excessive but needs careful planning.

I feel if we go roaring into it with a no-till drill we will simply be spraying it off come the spring! So the temptation is to move it with a light cultivator first and try to get a chit.
Can anyone offer some advice, what did you do when starting out with known black grass? Are you really best to leave it alone with no cultivation/raking and drill mid october into stubble?

 

[newjames]

Spring crop it

 

[yellow belly]

Depends on the current crop and the next crop

If current crop is osr and the bg is growing out the top new bg seed will be shed soon planting wheat is a big risk .if kerb has controlled all autumn germinating bg and new seed will be shed in low numbers the wheat after letting every thing grow and planting on the green followed by a liberater Avadex stack has given a clean crop on 5 years notill fields
1st year may not be as good if there is bg seed from previous years mixed to depth

If current crop is wheat and plenty of bg past and present plant a spring crop
If notill for a few years then rape notill without deep Tyne’s kerb will be very effective imho it is near 100 % on bg that germinates fron less the 10 mm depth but under 50% from 50 mm

 

[Audlem Agron]

Two strategies neither of which involve cultivation.
Dont cultivate. Why? you wont be mixing the BG seed into your soil for future years. Leaving it on the soil surface is the most potent tool you have to get rid of it. It has three choices if you leave it. 1. Germinate 2. Rot. 3. get eaten. And you have the added bonus that any residual chemistry you use has a greater effect as the BG roots are sat in it.
So - 1. cover crop followed by spring crop or 2. broad leafed crop WOSR is best as kerb has a huge level of efficacy.
Your best friend will be spring cropping as you get multiple hits with glyphosate avoiding the £120/ha herbicide stacks that WW needs.

 

[Clive]

We are in the early stages our new no-till system.
I have a field with a moderate level of black grass, not excessive but needs careful planning.

I feel if we go roaring into it with a no-till drill we will simply be spraying it off come the spring! So the temptation is to move it with a light cultivator first and try to get a chit.
Can anyone offer some advice, what did you do when starting out with known black grass? Are you really best to leave it alone with no cultivation/raking and drill mid october into stubble?

don't plant a winter crop

try a late planted spring crop like linseed or millet

 

[deleted user 837354]

If you are going to spring crop it, drill it with something livestocky like hybrid kale now so you can have a shilling off it by letting someone put their sheep on it this winter.

I won't comment on using herbicides you shouldn't but it's worth a mention...