Docks

babybrian

Anybody have a success story with getting rid of docks? I have a few fields that are bad and I am sick of looking at them, I topped 1 last week and noticed today that they are appearing again
Is this the best time to get them? and should I get a second spray again in a few months?
Whats the best spray?
our am I too late and should I wait and hit them earlier next year?

Indubitable

The only way you can be sure to get rid of them is to dig them up. Try not to go overboard with slurry as they thrive on the stuff.

aristo

Have only used Eagle in recent years for docks , but it will also kill off clover if you are blanket spraying fields

snowman707

was asking the whelehan lads in rockwell college last week, they recommend 'Pastor' think it is fairly expensive though

FixItAginTomora

We re-seeded ground last year, came back bad with docks this year though. If your NOT worried about clover then Bandock, Dockstar etc are all excellent.
However if you want to protect clover then Eagle is one of 2 brands on the market I think.
Expensive enough though, over €100/pack, does between 5 to 7 acres. Takes about 2 weeks to work, very happy with results, cleared field.
Only problem is the 2 lines the sprayer man missed! :rolleyes:
Slurry does seem to drive them on, but once your field is clear there will be no seeds going into the slurry.

TheSmallFella

I believe MCPA will kill docks. (Anyone is free to correct me there )

reilig

TheSmallFella wrote: »

I believe MCPA will kill docks. (Anyone is free to correct me there )

I proposed that MCPA would kill docks on here a few weeks ago and was corrected However, it did kill docks on ground that I was specifically spraying for rushes about 6 weeks ago. Some people suggested that it would not kill the root, but as yet, the docks remain dead.

It should be noted that MCPA was not developed to specifically kill Docks.

Tora Bora

I have never reseeded ground, but looking at all the "better" farms around where good tracts have been reseeded, I am amazed by the proliferation of docks in the new pastures. It just seems that once you plough, harrow or rotavate old pasture, you bring zillions of dormant dock seeds back to life:mad:
One really super reseeded field near me over 15 acres. Done about 5 years ago. Owner to be fair is for ever spot spraying with a quad sprayer, but this year the field is absolutely plastered with docks. I guess it takes constant year after year spraying to get them thinned out.

Casinoking

Tora Bora wrote: »

I have never reseeded ground, but looking at all the "better" farms around where good tracts have been reseeded, I am amazed by the proliferation of docks in the new pastures. It just seems that once you plough, harrow or rotavate old pasture, you bring zillions of dormant dock seeds back to life:mad:
One really super reseeded field near me over 15 acres. Done about 5 years ago. Owner to be fair is for ever spot spraying with a quad sprayer, but this year the field is absolutely plastered with docks. I guess it takes constant year after year spraying to get them thinned out.

The experts say dock seeds can lie dormant in the ground for 30 years, so tilling is a good way to wake them up alright. However I'd say the hard frost this spring has a lot to do with it too, there are infestations of all sorts of weeds all over the country in fields that haven't been tilled for years. As far as spraying goes, there are several products on the market which have already been mentioned that are excellent on docks specifically, but they're all fairly expensive and come in at around €40-€45 per acre for the chemical alone. For those on a more conservative budget you'll get a reasonable kill by mixing D50 with CMPP. MCPA won't kill docks, it'll just burn off the foliage above ground. They'll be back, don't you worry.

snowman707

Casinoking wrote: »

MCPA won't kill docks, it'll just burn off the foliage above ground. They'll be back, don't you worry.

+1

the same can said for a lot of weedkillers, you need to kill the root not the actual foliage , my neighbour used to boast that he wasn't sparing the chemical when spraying rushes hinting that I was not putting enough chemical into the tank granted he got a quicker kill than i did mixing at the recommended level but his rushes reappeared after a year or two simply because the chemical killed the greenery too fast to give the roots a chance to absorb it in


as i mentioned a few posts earlier i quizzed the whelehan guys in rockwell a couple of weeks ago and they seem to think that pastor is the most effective, when I mentioned that i was told this about grazon 90 etc a few years ago they said that pastor is the best for killing the root. time will tell i suppose

I am 35 years years spraying docks and do a rotation system just to keep them at respectable numbers , have long since resigned to the fact that docks will be on this farm after me.

Casinoking

snowman707 wrote: »

+1

the same can said for a lot of weedkillers, you need to kill the root not the actual foliage , my neighbour used to boast that he wasn't sparing the chemical when spraying rushes hinting that I was not putting enough chemical into the tank granted he got a quicker kill than i did mixing at the recommended level but his rushes reappeared after a year or two simply because the chemical killed the greenery too fast to give the roots a chance to absorb it in


as i mentioned a few posts earlier i quizzed the whelehan guys in rockwell a couple of weeks ago and they seem to think that pastor is the most effective, when I mentioned that i was told this about grazon 90 etc a few years ago they said that pastor is the best for killing the root. time will tell i suppose

I am 35 years years spraying docks and do a rotation system just to keep them at respectable numbers , have long since resigned to the fact that docks will be on this farm after me.

They would say that, Pastor is one of their most expensive products. It's a good chemical for general grassland clean-ups, will give a good kill on most weeds like ragwort, thistles, buttercups, dandelions etc. I never found it to be very effective on docks though, much the same problem as MCPA.

slippy wicket

I'd stay away from that Eagle muck, you might as well spray water as that stuff. A total waste of time and money.

Going to give High Load Mircam a go as soon as weather permits, but i am starting to think that the only way to properly control them is Gallup, a weed wiper and time.:D