spraying rushes

orchardfarmer

tacked a 2 ac field of very heavy rushes over the weekend, id say its 25 years since they were cut. going to try and drain the field and put back into grass.

anyway got them all cut, rowed them up with the hayturner and burnt them last night ( got some nice looks from the neighbour:mad: this morning)

going to hit them with roundup when the re growth appears

my question, how soon can i spray, as soon as the green shoot appears? if so how long does that normally take? its just i want to get in asap before the weather breaks to bad. this is the first time i could drive on the field in three years and i dont want to miss the chance

Floody Boreland

orchardfarmer wrote: »

tacked a 2 ac field of very heavy rushes over the weekend, id say its 25 years since they were cut. going to try and drain the field and put back into grass.

anyway got them all cut, rowed them up with the hayturner and burnt them last night ( got some nice looks from the neighbour:mad: this morning)

going to hit them with roundup when the re growth appears

my question, how soon can i spray, as soon as the green shoot appears? if so how long does that normally take? its just i want to get in asap before the weather breaks to bad. this is the first time i could drive on the field in three years and i dont want to miss the chance

rather him than me

supersean1999

orchardfarmer wrote: »

tacked a 2 ac field of very heavy rushes over the weekend, id say its 25 years since they were cut. going to try and drain the field and put back into grass.

anyway got them all cut, rowed them up with the hayturner and burnt them last night ( got some nice looks from the neighbour:mad: this morning)

going to hit them with roundup when the re growth appears

my question, how soon can i spray, as soon as the green shoot appears? if so how long does that normally take? its just i want to get in asap before the weather breaks to bad. this is the first time i could drive on the field in three years and i dont want to miss the chance

Don't spray with round up use a lick, when rushes grow to 12 inch apx, or spray using mcpa when rushes get a bit higher maybe 18 inch, u should get a good kill,

nashmach

You need to wait until they are growing again to spray them - let them up about 4-5 inches and then spray.

Also, advisable to use a contact sticker given the waxy nature of a rush.

supersean1999

nashmach wrote: »

You need to wait until they are growing again to spray them - let them up about 4-5 inches and then spray.

Also, advisable to use a contact sticker given the waxy nature of a rush.

4-5 inches to low IMO

nashmach

supersean1999 wrote: »

4-5 inches to low IMO

Works for us - you'll be waiting a long time at the moment for that plus they will be hardier - might as well hit them when they are soft.

This is for overall spraying not licking by the way.

orchardfarmer

nashmach wrote: »

Works for us - you'll be waiting a long time at the moment for that plus they will be hardier - might as well hit them when they are soft.

This is for overall spraying not licking by the way.

they will hardly be 4 inches by saturday??

nashmach

orchardfarmer wrote: »

they will hardly be 4 inches by saturday??

Unlikely - even if it rains!

Usually wait 2/3 weeks post topping here.

just do it

I'd say the drainage should be your priority if this is the first time in 3 years you could travel the ground. Drainage is best done when the ground is at its driest. If you get the drainage right you'll able to travel it and spray/lick the rushes when ever you need to. Do you know the soil structure? Do you know how you're going to drain it? Has it a trench to drain into?

momec

Only way to get rid of rushes is to spray them ... MCPA is very good an after you've cut them wait untill the top of them is in a point .. then put mcpa in a tractor sprayer at 1 liter to 40 gallons of water .. you will need to travel at a low speed while spraying like low 2nd on a mf 35 and at revs of a little over idle /tick over .. after 6 weeks they'll be dying and as with every spraying you wont get them all the first time .. best time to spray is coming to d end of september as the growth is over for the year an leave them to die over the winter an then spray again in february to stop regrowth an kill all the new ones starting out ..

Marooned75

Topped a lot here at weekend will get neighbour to use weed licker on them in a few weeks and see how that goes.

just do it

Marooned75 wrote: »

Topped a lot here at weekend will get neighbour to use weed licker on them in a few weeks and see how that goes.

I'm going at it the other way round as they're very heavy and they've gone to seed. Don't want to spread the seed. Regardless what way we do them I'm resigned to it being an annual job that I'm quite happy to outsource to my quadboy :rolleyes:

Marooned75

Had to get in contractor my own machine wouldn't be able needed serious HP to top them will keep on them now will make things easier

bbam

Marooned75 wrote: »

Had to get in contractor my own machine wouldn't be able needed serious HP to top them will keep on them now will make things easier

If ground conditions are good it doesn't take that much HP.
Use a slower ground speed and give the topper time to work through the heavier stuff.. Raising the skids 20/30mm will make it easier and they can still be sprayed/licked in a few weeks..

I haven't seen any rushes our 1974 DB996 wouldn't cut if the ground is hard.

Dampintheattic

bbam wrote: »

If ground conditions are good it doesn't take that much HP.
Use a slower ground speed and give the topper time to work through the heavier stuff.. Raising the skids 20/30mm will make it easier and they can still be sprayed/licked in a few weeks..

I haven't seen any rushes our 1974 DB996 wouldn't cut if the ground is hard.

Drum mower. Most toppers are made of paper, with a plastic gear box.

Marooned75

bbam wrote: »

If ground conditions are good it doesn't take that much HP.
Use a slower ground speed and give the topper time to work through the heavier stuff.. Raising the skids 20/30mm will make it easier and they can still be sprayed/licked in a few weeks..

I haven't seen any rushes our 1974 DB996 wouldn't cut if the ground is hard.

Long time since they were done very strong and needed it done that way so now I can keep on top of them with my line out from now.

SomethingElse

I sprayed a field with heavy rushes a good few weeks backs, cut them during the good spell and am now going to spray them again when they begin to grow back up. Hopefully that'll put the feckers back a fair bit
used mortone for the spraying

supersean1999

SomethingElse wrote: »

I sprayed a field with heavy rushes a good few weeks backs, cut them during the good spell and am now going to spray them again when they begin to grow back up. Hopefully that'll put the feckers back a fair bit
used mortone for the spraying

Use mcpa the next time , cheaper and better IMO,

SomethingElse

supersean1999 wrote: »

Use mcpa the next time , cheaper and better IMO,

I've heard that alright. They didn't have any in stock that day so I just picked up the mortone at e70 for a 20l drum. Any idea what the going price is for mcpa? Is it much cheaper?

supersean1999

SomethingElse wrote: »

I've heard that alright. They didn't have any in stock that day so I just picked up the mortone at e70 for a 20l drum. Any idea what the going price is for mcpa? Is it much cheaper?

It cost me 49 for 10l . But it does same area as mortone. Iv heard of guys not taking Any notice of advice and loading the sprayer up with mcpa and ending up with a Brown field :-)

epfff

. But it does same area as mortone. Iv heard of guys not taking Any notice of advice and loading the sprayer up with mcpa and ending up with a Brown field :-)[/quote]

Who was talking about me again

micky mouse

Those of you that have sprayed rushes over the years how long,did ye find do you need to leave to allow the chemical to "soak" into the rush before it gets rain in order to get the right kill

orchardfarmer

just do it wrote: »

I'd say the drainage should be your priority if this is the first time in 3 years you could travel the ground. Drainage is best done when the ground is at its driest. If you get the drainage right you'll able to travel it and spray/lick the rushes when ever you need to. Do you know the soil structure? Do you know how you're going to drain it? Has it a trench to drain into?

thats the plan justdoit, just the rushes were that heavy i couldnt see where the falls were to place the drains, gonna spray it off when the shoots come up, and tackle the drainage in the spring (when ive a few quid for stones)

ive posted a couple of photos, these were the heaviest i have cut yet, photo prob doesnt do it justice as they were thicker as i went back in to the field. used a int 678 with a drum mower, had to drive at low first at full rev to get through the feckers!!

towzer2010

micky mouse wrote: »

Those of you that have sprayed rushes over the years how long,did ye find do you need to leave to allow the chemical to "soak" into the rush before it gets rain in order to get the right kill

+1 on the MCPA. I never use mortone anymore. If its dry for 24hrs after you should be fine. I've sprayed rushes and had light drizzle after 12 hours and still got a good kill. Make sure to use a couple of squirts of washing up liquid or if you want to spend money an activator. It really makes a difference and you will get a quicker kill.

just do it

orchardfarmer wrote: »

thats the plan justdoit, just the rushes were that heavy i couldnt see where the falls were to place the drains, gonna spray it off when the shoots come up, and tackle the drainage in the spring (when ive a few quid for stones)

Funny thing that's what I did ~4 years ago. It was only then I could see the natural contours of the land. Only got the drains in this year though :rolleyes:

orchardfarmer

just do it wrote: »

Funny thing that's what I did ~4 years ago. It was only then I could see the natural contours of the land. Only got the drains in this year though :rolleyes:

do ya want to come over and do mine??:o

micky mouse

supersean1999 wrote: »

It cost me 49 for 10l . But it does same area as mortone. Is this true.Only ever used mortone.Good kill but severe on ground as others have said.So 10l of mcpa covers same ground as 10l mortone

crackcrack30

So you have mowed, sprayed, drained,.....then what? are we expeting a 50/75 or 99% kill rate..... when we've gone that far should it be just tilled & reseeded or is there no need for that...?

bozd

I have one field that is bad with rushes or was. I never want to spend big money so put on the knapsack few months ago with gallup and did 2 acre field for about €10 and an hour of spraying. those bits i missed were visible 3 weeks later and hit them again. burnt it off and let grass grow and even got a half decent cut of hay from it. neighbour dug drains amongst the rush without spraying and burning off and now place is uneven and he wont get a good cut next year i reckon. used agroxzone the previous year- useless by the way.

SomethingElse

Is it too late for spraying rushes with MCPA?

pakalasa

Why top at all? I just spot spray or lick the full grown rushes. I don't top before or after. The dead rushes will just rot away over the winter. Land with rushes tend to be wet rough land, so why add to your problems by driving a good mower or topper over it. Less work and less hassle.

Dampintheattic

bozd wrote: »

I have one field that is bad with rushes or was. I never want to spend big money so put on the knapsack few months ago with gallup and did 2 acre field for about €10 and an hour of spraying. those bits i missed were visible 3 weeks later and hit them again. burnt it off and let grass grow and even got a half decent cut of hay from it. neighbour dug drains amongst the rush without spraying and burning off and now place is uneven and he wont get a good cut next year i reckon. used agroxzone the previous year- useless by the way.

Doctors differ and patients die I guess. I have used Agroxone to great effect. Seemed easy on the grass as well.

momec

I sprayed with mortone yesterday .. 2 liters to 45 gallons .. it was just a clean up spray after doing the same ground last spring 12mths
When i done it the first time i used a mf 35 an it got it hard to travel through them they were so high and strong .. Low 2nd is the gear and it just over idle speed for heavy rushes and high 1st at same rev for running around the field , it will leave a very clean job in 6 mths but next february another run will pick up all the spots missed ...