Thistles in grassland

[bobk]

Looking to catch a 10 acre field for hay / haylage before it gets ripped up this autumn .

Too many thistles so looking for something cheap and cheerful to take them out this year .
not using thistlex or pastor .... so my choices are ? MCPA , Ally .

Needs to be under a tenner an acre .

 

[ollie989898]

So....

Ally is illegal. Not sure its that hot on thistles either.

ThistleX or full rate MCPA. MCPA is cheap but it needs to be warm and growy

Looked at some grassland Thursday. Thsitles all still coming so will leave it for another 10 days I think.

 

[bobk]

So....

Ally is illegal. Not sure its that hot on thistles either.

ThistleX or full rate MCPA. MCPA is cheap but it needs to be warm and growy

Looked at some grassland Thursday. Thsitles all still coming so will leave it for another 10 days I think.

Thistlex is good but takes some grass with it , does MCPA scorch ?

 

[ollie989898]

Thistlex is good but takes some grass with it , does MCPA scorch ?

All the herbicides give the grass grief as they dewax it but its not enough to worry about. Ive sprayed grass with nearly every hormone or Pyr active as well as cimarron and envy its not enough to worry about. It soon recovers.

MCPA etc were traditionally said to hurt grass more but ive used full rate MCPA and full rate 2,4D on grassland for rushes and never heard a peep. Grass that is growing on keenly and fresh will go yellow a bit if you so much as drive on it the wrong time of day you just have to live with it.

Definitely do not cut, harrow or roll the graze either side of spraying mind.

 

[Kevtherev]

MCPA absolutely fine let the thistles get a little bit bigger in the next few days.

 

[bobk]

All the herbicides give the grass grief as they dewax it but its not enough to worry about. Ive sprayed grass with nearly every hormone or Pyr active as well as cimarron and envy its not enough to worry about. It soon recovers.

MCPA etc were traditionally said to hurt grass more but ive used full rate MCPA and full rate 2,4D on grassland for rushes and never heard a peep. Grass that is growing on keenly and fresh will go yellow a bit if you so much as drive on it the wrong time of day you just have to live with it.

Definitely do not cut, harrow or roll the graze either side of spraying mind.

It's getting a damn good rolling tomorrow

 

[Goweresque]

Thistlex is under £10/acre. A 3 litre can does 7.5 acres, costs no more than £75+vat (from Progreen https://www.progreen.co.uk/weed-control/selective/thistlex-3-l) cheaper if you buy plenty, I've just ordered 20 cans @ £65+vat from Frontier.

Cheaper but less effective on thistles is Headland Polo, £55-ish per 10l can, does about 7 acres at full rate, so just under £8/acre. Will burn thistles off for a season to give a clean hay crop, but some will come back in the autumn. Bonus is that it'll clear up the creeping buttercups.

 

[bobk]

Thistlex is under £10/acre. A 3 litre can does 7.5 acres, costs no more than £75+vat (from Progreen https://www.progreen.co.uk/weed-control/selective/thistlex-3-l) cheaper if you buy plenty, I've just ordered 20 cans @ £65+vat from Frontier.

Cheaper but less effective on thistles is Headland Polo, £55-ish per 10l can, does about 7 acres at full rate, so just under £8/acre. Will burn thistles off for a season to give a clean hay crop, but some will come back in the autumn. Bonus is that it'll clear up the creeping buttercups.

Used thistlex before , excellent control but took a fair bit of grass with it , albeit temporarily .

 

[ollie989898]

Thats fine but leave it at least 7 days either side of spraying.

 

[Red Fred]

I once made the mistake of using a little bit of left over Ally on a patch of thistles thinking it wouldn't hurt, but it still showed up as a stunted rectangle years later. That taught me to read the recommendations.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

It's getting a damn good rolling tomorrow

What's it done to deserve that

 

[Ukjay]

It's getting a damn good rolling tomorrow

Id like to roll ours, but that is a bit of kit we have not got yet

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

2 4-D will take out thistles but they will come back.
If you want to finish them for good then only Thistlex.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Id like to roll ours, but that is a bit of kit we have not got yet

Total waste of time and fuel and does more harm than good

 

[Bruce Almighty]

I once made the mistake of using a little bit of left over Ally on a patch of thistles thinking it wouldn't hurt, but it still showed up as a stunted rectangle years later. That taught me to read the recommendations.

About 20 years ago, I did that too.
I soon wished I hadn't as it killed the grass as well as the thistles.

MCPA at 1.5 l/ha + 2,4D at 1.5 l/ha = Polo

 

[crazy_bull]

Prevail, seems to be exactly the same as Thistlex, got delivered it by Agrii, £115/5ltrs

Slightly cheaper than Thistlex but same ingredients and same manufacturer

C B

 

[tr250]

Total waste of time and fuel and does more harm than good

Saves a lot of stones up the forager

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Id like to roll ours, but that is a bit of kit we have not got yet

Even a bit of bruising/crushing can help, eg chain harrows, just don't hurt them too much or the spray won't effectively translocate.
Down here wiping seems to be more popular than spraying for clover reasons, you can use nastier chem mixes, in that scenario a bit of a bash a fortnight before wiping seems to "help the medicine go down"
2,4,D in a wiper doesn't work so well as other things IME

 

[Ukjay]

Total waste of time and fuel and does more harm than good

OK then, I gotta ask - how would you remove the hoof marks (no digs about the horses - I know most farmers do not like them) and also the undulations in full time paddocks which have not been removed by having sheep on the land?

Oh, and the roller I was referring to was not a std flat roller either - it was one of the spiked ones like below to hopefully help some tractor compaction but the cost is prohibitive currently:

 

[Ukjay]

Even a bit of bruising/crushing can help, eg chain harrows, just don't hurt them too much or the spray won't effectively translocate.
Down here wiping seems to be more popular than spraying for clover reasons, you can use nastier chem mixes, in that scenario a bit of a bash a fortnight before wiping seems to "help the medicine go down"
2,4,D in a wiper doesn't work so well as other things IME

Was out last night with the harrows as the weather allowed me to get on finally - but the roller (spiked Aerator Type) was more aligned (my logic - rightly or wrongly) to try and help remove some of the undulations, slight compaction from tractor use: