Thistles in grassland

[Chickcatcher]

New too this, "fields of grass"!
40 odd acres very old pasture, (lifetime knowledge it has never been cultivated).
What would be the prefered product to erradicate Thistles. MCPA or CMPP?
Grass taken for Hay in July usually grazed by sheep August to Christmas.

 

[neilo]

New too this, "fields of grass"!
40 odd acres very old pasture, (lifetime knowledge it has never been cultivated).
What would be the prefered product to erradicate Thistles. MCPA or CMPP?
Grass taken for Hay in July usually grazed by sheep August to Christmas.

That sounds like most of this place was when I arrived, but with several acres of pure nettle beds too. I used 1L/ha of Thistlex (on 170ac!) in 2012, half of it had the same again in 2013, then just spot spraying ever since.

 

[Chickcatcher]

Ok, I used Doxstar 2.5wks ago it has killed or certainly made them look very ill. Nettles all dead so far. Thistles looked very unwell but seem to be coming back from sickness

 

[Aspiring Peasants]

Another vote for Thistlex. If they were cut in July with the hay crop, with the current weather they should be growing away strongly and so take the spray well

 

[neilo]

Ok, I used Doxstar 2.5wks ago it has killed or certainly made them look very ill. Nettles all dead so far. Thistles looked very unwell but seem to be coming back from sickness

If it’s just thistles, any spray with Clorpyralid will do it (Doxstar doesn’t iirc). You can get straight Chlorpyralid as Dow Shield, or as a much cheaper generic like Cliophar.

Doxstar won’t have done more than tickle them.

 

[shearerlad]

Used thistlex earlier this summer with good success on the weeds but of course it’s taken out the clover too.
Would a tank mix of 0.75l/ha of Agritox and 4.5l/ha of Headland Spruce have similar kill rates on the thistles and nettles while having minimal effect on the clover?

 

[Deutzdx3]

Thistlex. Works very well.

 

[Deutzdx3]

Thistlex. Works very well.

 

[neilo]

Used thistlex earlier this summer with good success on the weeds but of course it’s taken out the clover too.
Would a tank mix of 0.75l/ha of Agritox and 4.5l/ha of Headland Spruce have similar kill rates on the thistles and nettles while having minimal effect on the clover?

I expect it would only burn the tops off established thistles & nettles. I don't think there's anything cloversafe that works on established ones, so you either have to accept losing the clover, or use a weed wiper.

 

[Goweresque]

As above, unfortunately Doxstar will burn the thistles off for a while, but they'll be back, most likely next spring now if you've only just sprayed them. Thistlex is the one to go for to target thistles specifically.

 

[milkloss]

Used thistlex earlier this summer with good success on the weeds but of course it’s taken out the clover too.
Would a tank mix of 0.75l/ha of Agritox and 4.5l/ha of Headland Spruce have similar kill rates on the thistles and nettles while having minimal effect on the clover?

I've done a fair area with straight MCPA and the clover was knocked but back about 6wks later. Certainly made the thistles tired but I expect to have to tidy up next year. Top kill on nettles and thins them out but better if they aren't in seed.

 

[ShooTa]

grazed ours hard last year - very high stocking density - almost all gone this year .. but will hit them again with high animal impact (sheep)
dont use thisltex as it killed off the clover last time we used it......

 

[onesiedale]

+1 for grazing hard.
July 2nd;

Same spot August 11th
No spraying, just electric fencing and bulling heifers.

 

[Buggerallbandwidth]

I had same problem. Heavy thistle, nettle and ragwort problem. Sprayed 1 litre Thistlex on September regrowth and seedlings. Impressive control which was then repeated 2 years later. Now only need to spot spray. The beauty of Thistlex is its translocated down to the roots. MCPA and 24D only take off top growth and needs repeating every spring. All sprays damage clover in my view, you have to weigh up what the bigger issue is.

 

[Chickcatcher]

The Grass I have, has no clover in it so Thistlex could be ok, just that the Sheep are now coming this week.
Get it ready for when they have gone or next spring.

 

[milkloss]

+1 for grazing hard.
July 2nd;View attachment 827008
Same spot August 11th
No spraying, just electric fencing and bulling heifers.
View attachment 827009

Looks to have done a good job of battering them down but the thistles are still there. How many years have you treated them like this? Might have saved fuel on topping but if you had sheep they'll still be there to help cause orf.

 

[MJT]

Would use thistlex if you really want rid of them.

Had 30acre reseed with thousands of bore thistles come in it, grass too long for weed wiper . Thistelex and dye in quad sprayer , one person on front with lance and other other driving up and down . Didn’t take that long at all (a good afternoon) and worked a treat killing thistles and leaving clover alone .

 

[Samcowman]

+1 for grazing hard.
July 2nd;View attachment 827008
Same spot August 11th
No spraying, just electric fencing and bulling heifers.
View attachment 827009

Did you park them on there tight or just run it as park of your normal rotation?

 

[little_p]

The Grass I have, has no clover in it so Thistlex could be ok, just that the Sheep are now coming this week.
Get it ready for when they have gone or next spring.

Others more knowledgeable than me will be along shortly to advise, but I think that a field should be stock free for a period of time after spraying with ThistleX.
So if sheep are coming in the next few days, you might have already missed your chance to spray them this year. Thistle spray usually works best in the growing stage, therefore on the whole I would leave it until Spring now.

 

[neilo]

Others more knowledgeable than me will be along shortly to advise, but I think that a field should be stock free for a period of time after spraying with ThistleX.
So if sheep are coming in the next few days, you might have already missed your chance to spray them this year. Thistle spray usually works best in the growing stage, therefore on the whole I would leave it until Spring now.

Grazing interval is on the label (7 days for Thistlex iirc), but anyone that has used Doxstar against thistles maybe doesn’t ‘do’ label reading? (sorry @Chickcatcher ).