Cutting Rushes

zetor 4911

Hi all,
I have a field which is 90% covered by the dreaded rush. I was going to cut them with a topper but I think that I would be constantly replacing shear bolts. So maybe I could cut them with a pz mower (135 or 165) Anyone have any experience of cutting them (I sprayed them 3 weeks ago). Thanks in advance.

bbam

I think 3 weeks might be a bit soon to mow them. You'd need to be sure the kill is well through the tussock before mowing.
You should have no bother with a topper. Keep the revs up and a low gear, we've always done this and rarely shear a bolt. Remember too the longer you wait the easier the mowing will be as they die off.

supersean1999

dont cut them until they are all dead, you will have you will have to repeat the process im sure, i prefer to top high rushes high then spray them,

redzerologhlen

We cut them with an old rotary no problem. I think a topper leaves them too long, a tighter cut gives the grass a better chance to close in where the rushes were. As the rest said wait until they are gone White and brittle to cut.

Suckler

redzerologhlen wrote: »

We cut them with an old rotary no problem. I think a topper leaves them too long, a tighter cut gives the grass a better chance to close in where the rushes were. As the rest said wait until they are gone White and brittle to cut.

We do the same. I dug a few drains, we cut them tight and can see a massive difference already.

redzerologhlen

This is the result I got from the method I said in the post above, I ran out of spray and didnt get to do the part on the right of the photo but I cut them when I was cutting the dead ones anyway. I will let you be the judge of how well it worked yourself.

southkilkenny

Hi all,

I'm a complete newbie to this sort of stuff but we have some bogs at home with very healthy crops of rushes...in many cases they are in big clumps which are raised above the general height of the field.

My question is what spray do ye use for spraying the rushes without killing grass? Whats the best time of year to do this spraying? What approximate application rate do ye use?

johngalway

southkilkenny wrote: »

My question is what spray do ye use for spraying the rushes without killing grass? Whats the best time of year to do this spraying? What approximate application rate do ye use?

I spray with Mortone, but that will kill clover, seems to have scorched the grass too, but that may have been my own fault with the mix.

Weedwiper is another option, raise it above grass level and it'll put the chemical onto the weed. Go up and down the field one day, then right to left across the field the next day.

Application rates differ with different chems, there'll be info on the label, most labels are available as .pdf files on Google if you do a search by the chemical name.

I've sprayed all times of the year and I've killed rushes, including December a day before icy/snow weather. But treating the weeds when theyr'e growing strongly will provide the speediest results.

zetor 4911

redzerologhlen wrote: »

This is the result I got from the method I said in the post above, I ran out of spray and didnt get to do the part on the right of the photo but I cut them when I was cutting the dead ones anyway. I will let you be the judge of how well it worked yourself.

Thanks for the reply, if I could get as good a result as in the picture I would be very happy. What spray did you use and at what rate?.

redzerologhlen

zetor 4911 wrote: »

redzerologhlen wrote: »

This is the result I got from the method I said in the post above, I ran out of spray and didnt get to do the part on the right of the photo but I cut them when I was cutting the dead ones anyway. I will let you be the judge of how well it worked yourself.

Thanks for the reply, if I could get as good a result as in the picture I would be very happy. What spray did you use and at what rate?.

Mcpa 50 at about 3 liters an acre..maybe a bit less. Very strong mix but I wanted to be sure, have seen enough of spraying done where nothing happened.

ppn

Tidy job on the rushes. They are an absolute curse.
PZ mower will do the job no bother.

Baralis1

Shear bolts come in different strengths. You may be able to get stronger shear bolts so they won't break as often when cutting rushes.

Atilathehun

Baralis1 wrote: »

Shear bolts come in different strengths. You may be able to get stronger shear bolts so they won't break as often when cutting rushes.

Best method is go down a couple of gears, up the revs and give the blades a chance to cut through the butt of the rushes.
Use more diesel but saves the agro of changing shear bolts,
If the rushes are strong, cut at the end of the grazing season, and leave to rot in over winter. Composing rushes are a valuable source of P and K!!! Why waste it?
Spray the regrowth in spring!

pakalasa

Baralis1 wrote: »

Shear bolts come in different strengths. You may be able to get stronger shear bolts so they won't break as often when cutting rushes.

Be careful doing this or you could seriously damage your tractor. Putting in a stronger shearbolt will transfer a lot higher torque back into the tractor. I know my belmac topper has an 8.8 shear bolt. The 8.8 which is stamped on the head bolt refers to the strength of the bolt, not the size.
You can also get 10.9 and 12.9 strength bolts. The 12.9 would be known as 'high tensile' bolts.

BeeDI

pakalasa wrote: »

Be careful doing this or you could seriously damage your tractor. Putting in a stronger shearbolt will transfer a lot higher torque back into the tractor. I know my belmac topper has an 8.8 shear bolt. The 8.8 which is stamped on the head bolt refers to the strength of the bolt, not the size.
You can also get 10.9 and 12.9 strength bolts. The 12.9 would be known as 'high tensile' bolts.

Disc mower is the way to go;)

valtra8150

no need for a disc mower or a pz mower, a topper with a narmal shearbolt will do the trick i sprayed rushes two years ago they were about 4 foot high in a 7 acre field completely covered i topped every one of them with my mf 165 and abbey topper didnt shear a bolt not a rush in it sence i even cut a few bales in it this year, and ivev used a few all ready and there lovely stuff. i used mortone at a rate of about 7 liters per hectare they recomend 5 litres but id rather it a bit stronger

Farmer Pudsey

I cut rushes with a topper as well, you have to make sure you have the right shear bolt. I have seen farmers use ordinary bolts out of the co-op these are not strong enough. Also make sure the blades of the topper are sharp ( use an mini angle grinder with a grinding disc), blades are bolted on tight and go around in a low gear. Check underneath of topper is not getting blocked especially with present wet weather.