It costs a quid an acre you can afford to let it hit the soil.
Spring barley after grass
- Thread starter DaveGrohl
- Start date
Yes, and then there's the contractor's charge too, so not a quid. Doesn't look like much rain for the next week so Dr Moisture's not gonna improve the job. It's only 7 acres so we'll just get it done and report back in a few days.
You could roll it again?
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Indeed, we're a tight bunch. 7 acres gets treated the same as 700 here though. Oh and it's £63 btw for a worthwhile rate. Then again, I could just say feck it, it's not worth bothering the contractor with.
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Spring barley after grass loves being rolled.
ollie989898
Member
A pre-emergence herbicide is not going to stop every weed coming up. Some are outright resistant to some of the actives used. Others, like docks, grow from root stocks and don't care a jot about pre-emergence chemistry- they are too strong.
The question should be, does the emerged crop need any BLW herbicide now it has established and is tillering, if it does, can I get away with something that is cheaper/reduced rate or otherwise only targeting a specific problem rather than address many different species. Having a crop of spring barley with only docks in it would be viewed as a result in my book. Are the weeds at a level that is even worth treating them could be another question.
Generally, I only used a pre-emergence program on spring barley where there was an established or suspected grass weed issue. Half the time the seed beds were either not good enough or the crop was undersown or going for wholecrop so grass weeds were hardly high up the list of priorities so only the BLWs were treated. I have used hussar in past but it was generally pretty pants for what it was.
Ormond
Member
I ploughed 40 acres out of grass last year, old ley....sprayed it off, fym a d chicken litter ploughed in, came through great then at 2/3 leaves started going yellow and little growth for a week or more...went in with more N....sprayed it with a foliar fert....then when it did turn a week or so later it took off....lovely thick canopy....shortish straw but yielded well in the end. Don't think lime works instantly so if pH is low probably still is....
Sprayed it with generous Mn on Sat, no visible difference on Mon, so I rang a friendly agronomist who confirmed it was to do with the decaying sward as he was stood in a field that looked even worse than mine, white rather than pale yellow. What is the exact process that's happening please as he was struggling to remember the specifics? Is at a type of gas that's being released during the breakdown or something else?
Thanks for the comments about decaying sward being the problem chaps. Apparently the older the sward the worse it is? Obv I'll just have to be patient with this field and watch it romp away in a couple of weeks, but how do I avoid it next year? Glyphosate in autumn rather than spring? There was a reasonable gap between spray and plough I thought as it was. Plough ASAP and leave it for a while?
Thanks for the comments about decaying sward being the problem chaps. Apparently the older the sward the worse it is? Obv I'll just have to be patient with this field and watch it romp away in a couple of weeks, but how do I avoid it next year? Glyphosate in autumn rather than spring? There was a reasonable gap between spray and plough I thought as it was. Plough ASAP and leave it for a while?
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ollie989898
Member
I would not spray grass and plough it immediately but that is just me.
Leave it to die off properly, manure/slurry on and then plough. Warmer soil and a better, firmer seed bed all help. The manganese issue is something I saw many many times, it is normally transient, once the crop has enough root mass to get going it is normally fine. It's a minor problem to have in all fairness. I would often nip a sprayer in soon after emergence and put manganese and a bit of something else to move the crop along. The problem is justifying an application of something when the contractor fee is more expensive than the product in the tank but that's growing crops for you.
Leave it to die off properly, manure/slurry on and then plough. Warmer soil and a better, firmer seed bed all help. The manganese issue is something I saw many many times, it is normally transient, once the crop has enough root mass to get going it is normally fine. It's a minor problem to have in all fairness. I would often nip a sprayer in soon after emergence and put manganese and a bit of something else to move the crop along. The problem is justifying an application of something when the contractor fee is more expensive than the product in the tank but that's growing crops for you.