Root crops and grass weeds

[mountfarm]

I cannot find the article but I’ve read recently some young farmer pontificating about the benefit of root crops (potatoes in his case) as part of his armoury against grass weeds. Basically he was renting land out to a potato grower because he believed it helped his war against grass weeds. Now obviously there’s chemistry available to root crops that’s not available to cereals but surely mixing up about 14 inches of soil to get the potato seedbed makes the issue worse by mixing grass weeds through the entire usable soil profile. Or is he right? The combination of ploughing, battering the soil into a very fine tilth and then root crop herbicides works? Also I guess with regards to potatoes they shade out other competition quite quickly as well. Any views?

 

[Bogweevil]

He might plough the weed seeds deep, make the ridges without bringing up the weed seeds and establish subsequent crops by min or no till?

 

[Andrew K]

He is breaking the normal BG establishment cycle by planting a late spring sown crop, with a vigorous smothering habit and is able to use different chemistry and mechanical weeding as well if required.

 

[farmerfred86]

seems to be huge reliance on centurion max to me for break crops. An ALS product with no alternative when its gone. Ticking clock!

 

[ollie989898]

Spuds are great for grass weeds.

Different chemistry. Very rapidly growing smothering type crop which will fight a lot of weeds nearly to death. Later spring establishment, also ploughing and deep tillage involved a lot of the time.

It's a combination of chemistry and cultural controls that weeds really hate.

seems to be huge reliance on centurion max to me for break crops. An ALS product with no alternative when its gone. Ticking clock!

Centurion max is clethodim. It's an ACCase.

 

[Adeptandy]

Rotary Cultivators really mix the profile, was the main reason I went DD to stop the mixing and try and reduce the BG. making strides with that, but year 2 and looking like a below average year due to a few errors of judgement/lessons learnt.

 

[farmerfred86]

Spuds are great for grass weeds.

Different chemistry. Very rapidly growing smothering type crop which will fight a lot of weeds nearly to death. Later spring establishment, also ploughing and deep tillage involved a lot of the time.

It's a combination of chemistry and cultural controls that weeds really hate.


Centurion max is clethodim. It's an ACCase.

Yes youre right, Fops,Dims and dems all a delicate product in terms of resistance. Think fusillade max. If this is lost it leaves little option. Beet for example....