top rushes or not

john p mc g

I sprayed few acres around two months ago for rushe cattle have it skint now should i cut them now or in da spring

tony007

If you sprayed them you should let them die and rot.

onyerbikepat

I passed a field today where a neighbour had licked rushes and then topped them about 2 weeks later. I was talking to him about a month ago and he was delighted with the results. Well today the rushes were shooting back up. So to answer your question, if it was me I'd be inclined to leave them and let them die down to the roots over winter.

just do it

john p mc g wrote: »

I sprayed few acres around two months ago for rushe cattle have it skint now should i cut them now or in da spring

You'll get a divided opinion on this. I like you sprayed 7 weeks ago and I'm leaving them to rot into the ground. Glad to say the dry weather held till I'd the sprayed areas grazed out. I'm planning to spray again next Spring but ultimately the area needs drainage.

Conmaicne Mara

Google "juncus effusus soft rush", page 11 of one of the results makes for interesting reading:

"The plant produces copious amounts of
seed with potentially 8,500 seeds produced per fertile shoot per annum (McCarthy, 1971). A
figure of 8 million seeds per square yard per season on an "average piece of rushy land” has
been suggested (Moore and Burr, 1948). Ervin and Wetzel (2001) calculated that 4 million
seeds were produced per square metre"

"A persistent (viable) seedbank facilitates survival after occasional disturbances such as
burning or flooding. Several studies have indicated that J. effusus can be an important part of
soil seed banks (Champness and Morris, 1948; Thompson and Grime, 1979; Grime et al.,
1990). Moore and Burr (1948) state that seeds of J. effusus may remain dormant and viable
for up to 60 years."

http://www.ucd.ie/ferg/Research/Projects/BOGFOR/Juncus_McCorry_Renou.pdf

Lads wonder then why they get rushes coming up after they've "dealt" with them. It will be an ongoing battle, no point in doing some work, then forgetting about them.

Killing the initial stand is just one small part, take away the conditions they like, drain, change the soil conditions, fertility etc, land management re poaching.

I would agree to let the chemical down into the roots. Can you easily pull out of the ground those which you have sprayed? If yes, top away, if not, leave them rot on another while and try again. Level the lot in Spring either way, and get ready to lick(my preference) or spray again. The quicker they are growing, the quicker the kill will be, but that is not to say you can't kill them in Winter, you can, it just takes a lot longer.

Valtraman2012

onyerbikepat wrote: »

I passed a field today where a neighbour had licked rushes and then topped them about 2 weeks later. I was talking to him about a month ago and he was delighted with the results. Well today the rushes were shooting back up. So to answer your question, if it was me I'd be inclined to leave them and let them die down to the roots over winter.

leave them at least six weeks after licking

royaler83

john p mc g wrote: »

I sprayed few acres around two months ago for rushe cattle have it skint now should i cut them now or in da spring

I sprayed two paddocks in a field in the 1st week in june, field wasnt covered in them but they were taking over in places, topped one of the paddocks after approx 10 wks, never got round to topping the other.

The topped paddock is completely rush free for now anyway, no sign of them coming back yet. The untopped paddock (where the rushes were thicker) has the grass growing through where the rushes are dying and at this stage (4 months later) they are 80% invisible from the road when the grass is strong.

Will know next year whether it makes any difference topping or not