Talking to old boys it’s been around here forever. They just had chemicals to control it!
Worsening blackgrass/ryegrass problem.
- Thread starter lady luck
- Start date
and yes, our worst areas are what we call "meadow ground"
alomy75
Member
I’m biased of course but I think you’ve just described why many are putting metcalfe onto a sprinter; light, strong, no wheels behind tines, staggered packer and with 250kg on a 12mm coulter will seed to depths a disc drill can only dream about in wet and dry soil
problem with my sprinter its 30cm row spacing so i have to put a 2 inch dutch on it to get 25mm spacing. trying to find a way to put some more coulters on but I dont think its possible with the frame.
I thought the horsch Twinter thread was a good economical
option for this.
alomy75
Member
I thought that was a fantastic conversion; mines 250 spacing but it’s definitely something I would consider… but looking at the crops now; they’ve all closed up the gaps. Time will tell when harvest arrives whether there’s a yield penalty of the wider rows.
can you point me in the right direction?
- Location
- Chipping Norton
Yep, you are making my point, not all tines are equal, If you are drilling combinables why do you need anything above 1/2" wide esp if you have a grassweed problem. Of course tines wont be suitable in a big biomass cover crop, this is where the disc comes into it own.
- Location
- Chipping Norton
Plenty of thoughts, and experience.
The soil conditions at the point of rolling will undoubtably affect the result, as will the amount of cover crop biomass present.
- Location
- Chipping Norton
thanks, looks good, but i really just want to make it single rows of 25 cm, so the possibility to hoe is still there
care to share?!
- Location
- Chipping Norton
I would but it'd be like War and Peace. Your question is so opened ended, and that's not meant to sound derisory, but it's like so many of the questions and answers on this forum, the devil is in the detail and most of the time there is not enough detail to draw out a conclusion. So, for example, are you talking about rolling in wet, dry or intermediate conditions, what level of cover crop biomass, and consistency of cover do you have, history of blackgrass in the field etc etc etc. I am not trying to be clever but all these variables will have an effect on the outcome, hence my rather bland answer above.
Its much easier just to say that I think you have a good understanding of the effects of movement and light interception on the germination of blackgrass and you need to take this into account with every field operation with a view to minimising the opportunity for the seed to have the conditions and environment to germinate. Again I stress I am not trying to be clever but this is a situation where every situation is different and you need to weigh up the pros and cons of every action and not just take broad brush approach. Keep following the system, as you are, of CA but focus on making every decision on a field by field basis and respect the soil. But I think you are doing this anyway from what I read, except maybe the Quadtrac.
But then the petrol(diesel)head horsepower obsessed engineer in me understands the draw of a big machine. Did I say that in public....
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4course
Member
- Location
- north yorks
and or a rotation me thinks, my monicker gives my bias away though ryegrass is a curse but grass pays better than most combinables here most years
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Currently roguing BG and I'll say that the vast majority this year is:
In a field where we applied digestate and the umbilical has rubbed soil that wasn't quite dry enough.
Emerging from cracks from the very dry April.
Shielded from chem by trash.
In a field where we applied digestate and the umbilical has rubbed soil that wasn't quite dry enough.
Emerging from cracks from the very dry April.
Shielded from chem by trash.
I don’t think trash is a problem, we applied chemical onto massive cover crops and can see very vividly where it’s gone off too early. It might lower control slightly. Hard to know
Good answer! Points taken.I would but it'd be like War and Peace. Your question is so opened ended, and that's not meant to sound derisory, but it's like so many of the questions and answers on this forum, the devil is in the detail and most of the time there is not enough detail to draw out a conclusion. So, for example, are you talking about rolling in wet, dry or intermediate conditions, what level of cover crop biomass, and consistency of cover do you have, history of blackgrass in the field etc etc etc. I am not trying to be clever but all these variables will have an effect on the outcome, hence my rather bland answer above.
Its much easier just to say that I think you have a good understanding of the effects of movement and light interception on the germination of blackgrass and you need to take this into account with every field operation with a view to minimising the opportunity for the seed to have the conditions and environment to germinate. Again I stress I am not trying to be clever but this is a situation where every situation is different and you need to weigh up the pros and cons of every action and not just take broad brush approach. Keep following the system, as you are, of CA but focus on making every decision on a field by field basis and respect the soil. But I think you are doing this anyway from what I read, except maybe the Quadtrac.
But then the petrol(diesel)head horsepower obsessed engineer in me understands the draw of a big machine. Did I say that in public....
by the way, the quad track has gone!
- Location
- Chipping Norton
On one hand I'm sorry to hear that (feel the power), on the other hand the soil is cheering....
What are you pulling the Avatar with now?
- Location
- Lincolnshire
No, it's the lesser of my three points tbh. But still noticeable.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Roguing out the odd plant in a normally very bad heavy bit which is almost blackgrass free this year, thanks I think to my brother ploughing it 12" deep in the autumn for the first time in about 5 years and then waiting till April to drill spring barley. Wouldn't want to turn it back up again though.
The November drilled winter wheat (mauled in on ploughed down grass ley is looking good now. BG free. The direct drilled winter wheat into grass ley on sand in January which I thought was a write off has improved tremendously and now looks very good. A few thinner patches on heavier areas but the rest has filled out well. No BG in that field.
There just isn't a hard and fast rule in my view. All sorts of permutations will and won't work, but generally burying it and leaving it there and not disturbing it all seem to control it. So ploughing and DD in careful sequence with sensible rotations.
The November drilled winter wheat (mauled in on ploughed down grass ley is looking good now. BG free. The direct drilled winter wheat into grass ley on sand in January which I thought was a write off has improved tremendously and now looks very good. A few thinner patches on heavier areas but the rest has filled out well. No BG in that field.
There just isn't a hard and fast rule in my view. All sorts of permutations will and won't work, but generally burying it and leaving it there and not disturbing it all seem to control it. So ploughing and DD in careful sequence with sensible rotations.