Town & Country Topics for April 21st with Rodney Leech

Hello, this is Rodney Leech with this week’s Town and Country Topics.

Save the date – May 18th, 2015 – Forage Class, Pasture Walk, and other demos and discussions, followed by the Cattleman’s membership picnic, from 1pm to 7pm. For more information, contact Rodney Leech at the Highland Extension office at 540-468-2225.

Six Tips to follow for cost effective weed control

Herbicides are most cost-effective when used correctly. To get the most benefit from your pasture weed spraying, Dow AgroSciences weed scientists offer these six tips.

Identify the week problem. Your choice of herbicides and recommended application rates will vary by week species and timing. For most broadleaves, GrazonNext HL herbicide will be the cost-effective choice, but Chaparral herbicide controls some species – including Pensacola bahiagrass, annual ryegrass, and some species of brush that GrazonNext HL does not. Consult your dealer or Dow AgroSciences Range & Pasture Specialist for a specific local recommendation.

Use a calibrated sprayer or a professional applicator. Calibration prevents both the waste and expense of overapplication, and prevents reduced control from underapplication. Get your money’s worth – don’t guess.

Spray at the right time with the right rate. Annual weeds in pastures are generally most susceptible early in the season when they’re small and actively growing, and when soil moisture is adequate. Using GrazonNext HL or Chaparral will provide longer soil residual activity than any other pasture spray and control weeds that germinate after spraying. You can get season-long control of many weed species.

Recognize that drought-stressed or mature weeds will be more difficult to control. Effectiveness may be reduced if weeds don’t have adequate moisture and aren’t rapidly growing. In a dry year, spraying early will improve results and help your grass capture scarce moisture. Weed-free pastures always recover faster from drought. The key is to spray early unless you’re willing to increase the rate later in the season or accept less control.

Follow label directions for application and mixing. For ground broadcast, apply the recommended rate of herbicide in 10 to 20 gallons of total spray mixture per acre. Use the recommended rate of an agricultural surfactant to thoroughly wet the foliage. Consider a drift control additive to reduce drift and improve deposition.

Remember soil residual activity and plant residue. While GrazonNext HL and Chaparral may provide weed control for several weeks in permanent grass pasture, they should not be used on cropland or on land to be rotated to crops. Remember too, grasses treated with any soil residual herbicide may carry herbicide residue that can be transferred to the soil by hay, livestock manure or urine. Read and follow all label directions.