Using autumn sown annual and Italian ryegrasses with no clover provides bulk quality feed in the spring pinch. These grasses are often then sprayed out in early summer for winter crop planting. This is your opportunity to deal with problem weeds.
Weeds in brassicas and fodder beets are hard to control, so getting on top of weeds such as docks, thistles, fathens, and shepherd’s purse, during winter leads to simpler spray-outs and a reduced weed bank to deal with when establishing next summer’s crop.
The key is to have no clover present, so you have more chemistry options available. Here are some options you can use in the cold months to control tough weeds.
Actives such as MCPA, found in Grassmaster, is a cheap, yet effective, option to control weeds like fathen, thistles, shepherd’s purse, nettles and hedgemustard.
Dicamba is a very old active but gives good control to dandelions, docks, willow weed, wire weed, and thistles. These are just a few weeds on its extensive label, though it does come with a 14-day grazing withholding period.
Dynamite, a selective herbicide, is a very good controller of thistles, docks, and storksbill with additional label claims for very tough weeds such as horehound, hemlock, doves foot geranium, and many more. All these options have a three-month plant back to fodder beet and one-month plant back to brassicas and clover.
Aminopyralid and triclopyr, non-clover safe, herbicides are very broad-spectrum herbicide that is especially effective againstragwort, thistles, docks, buttercups, and mallows. However, while these products only have a three-month plant back for brassicas, it has long plant backs to fodder beet and clovers, 18-months and 52-weeks respectively, so it is good to seek advice before use.
Clopyralid is an excellent spike to MCPA. As a spike, it gives you extra knock down capability when dealing with nodding thistles or large dandelions. Versatil does not have a plant back period for brassicas or fodder beet but, depending on the rate used, there can be up to a 52-week plant back for clovers.
