What spray for Buttercups?

[glasshouse]

Sheep will get rid of buttercups, ragwort and dock

 

[edwhite]

they are also poisonous to cattle and sheep apparently

Some of our pasture is coated in them after waterlogging over the winter. The cattle are mob grazed across them and completely anialate them. We haven’t ever seen any ill effects on the cattle
The problem with buttercups it that they released a chemical as they grow that inhibits other plants/ grasses from growing.
We sent off a soil sample to see what was wrong in the soil apart from the waterlogging over the winter. This is on some old Rig and Furrow ground

 

[neilo]

Sheep will get rid of buttercups, ragwort and dock

Why have I still got a field that is covered in docks (cow slurry carted in for maize 8 years ago), despite only ever being grazed with sheep? And acres and acres of fields that still have a good smattering of buttercups, despite the same treatment?

 

[digger64]

Sheep will get rid of buttercups, ragwort and dock

Please come and tell ours how to then , yes sheep will eat ragwort if they have to but you pay for it later , suppose it doesn't matter if they aren't your sheep , which is usually the case with the people who advocate that pasture doesn't need any inputs or management so they can claim their income

 

[edwhite]

Why have I still got a field that is covered in docks (cow slurry carted in for maize 8 years ago), despite only ever being grazed with sheep? And acres and acres of fields that still have a good smattering of buttercups, despite the same treatment?

Our cows started eating docks this year. Main thing is that artificial fertiliser makes them bitter. If you don’t use artificial, then try sprinkling grass nuts around them, they soon learnt they were full of minerals and ate them all up

 

[glasshouse]

Please come and tell ours how to then , yes sheep will eat ragwort if they have to but you pay for it later , suppose it doesn't matter if they aren't your sheep , which is usually the case with the people who advocate that pasture doesn't need any inputs or management so they can claim their income

Its quite simple, if sheep are part of the grazing regime , you wont get docks, ragwort or buttercup.
Cleaning a mess up is more tricky but sheep will do it

 

[glasshouse]

Why have I still got a field that is covered in docks (cow slurry carted in for maize 8 years ago), despite only ever being grazed with sheep? And acres and acres of fields that still have a good smattering of buttercups, despite the same treatment?

You must feed your sheep too well!
Thay need to be hungry

 

[neilo]

You must feed your sheep too well!
Thay need to be hungry

You're right of course, they will eat them when they're hungry. They won't milk or grow very well if they are hungry though. That field gets hammered tight several times a year, but they still aren't disappearing.

 

[neilo]

New weapon of choice for buttercup is Envy. Dont cut dose. Use adjuvant and plenty of water, need good coverage. Will hurt clover.

Beware it uses florasulam which is an ALS inhibitor herbicide- so dont expect it to curl weeds up instantly. It takes 10 days to show effects, weeds cease growth, yellow and fade.

Not sure how hot it is on docks yet.

Rushes top off now and hit green regrowth when its 12 inches tall. Full rate 2,4D and MCPA dont mess about.

When you say 'hurt clover', do you mean knock it (like 2,4D would) or kill it?

Envy looks like a useful grassland product, without the restrictions (or cost presumably) of Forefront.

 

[glasshouse]

You're right of course, they will eat them when they're hungry. They won't milk or grow very well if they are hungry though. That field gets hammered tight several times a year, but they still aren't disappearing.

But they wont be getting worse?

 

[neilo]

But they wont be getting worse?

They can't get much worse.

I've (half) cleared them with Pinnacle once. The next year I did clear it with Pastor, giving up on the clover. Still coming back from seeds I guess, and the sheep grazing hasn't stopped them.

My agronomist is adamant that raising Ca levels will deter them, but 5cwt/ac of Fibrophos for the last 2 years (trying to lift P&K from zeros!) doesn't seem to have hurt them any.

 

[glasshouse]

When i took over the tenancy, there was 400 ac of perm anent set aside with patches of totally wild game cover with docks like oak trees.
That seed will be there for ever now

 

[Pasty]

Chikkins will solve them. I think they are quite pretty. A sign of low N as far as I am aware. Got plenty here but I'm not worried. When made to hay, the toxicity vanishes. Probably a sign of under-stocking. Certainly on my place.

 

[ollie989898]

When you say 'hurt clover', do you mean knock it (like 2,4D would) or kill it?

Envy looks like a useful grassland product, without the restrictions (or cost presumably) of Forefront.

It contains flurox and flourasulam so if the clover survives it will be down to luck.

 

[ollie989898]

They can't get much worse.

I've (half) cleared them with Pinnacle once. The next year I did clear it with Pastor, giving up on the clover. Still coming back from seeds I guess, and the sheep grazing hasn't stopped them.

My agronomist is adamant that raising Ca levels will deter them, but 5cwt/ac of Fibrophos for the last 2 years (trying to lift P&K from zeros!) doesn't seem to have hurt them any.

Calcium... cripes alive. You wont ever stop them no matter how much nutrient or trace element they are fed.

 

[RAF]

Have used leystar that’s cured them

 

[ollie989898]

Leystar is a similar product to Envy.

 

[ollie989898]

If grazing animals removed all weed from grassland there would be no such thing as grassland weeds. They would be poorly adapted for such an environment and simply not exist.

On the contrary, they are weeds because they survive repeated grazing. I admit repeated mowing or topping can usefully deter them from setting up shop but im not convinced livestock really like these species.

 

[carpenter1]

What does everyone spray to kill docks in grass land?

 

[Ducati899]

New weapon of choice for buttercup is Envy. Dont cut dose. Use adjuvant and plenty of water, need good coverage. Will hurt clover.

Beware it uses florasulam which is an ALS inhibitor herbicide- so dont expect it to curl weeds up instantly. It takes 10 days to show effects, weeds cease growth, yellow and fade.

Not sure how hot it is on docks yet.

Rushes top off now and hit green regrowth when its 12 inches tall. Full rate 2,4D and MCPA dont mess about.

I’ve been using it on docks and buttercups this year and am impressed with it,personally here could see the effects quite quickly as well which I was surprised by