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Dock leaves in meadow for silage

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  • 20-06-2020 10:39am
    #1
    irishguy19772
    Registered Users Posts: 379 ✭✭


    I have a meadow for silage the end of June. There is a lot of outbreaks of dock leaves in various patches. I didn't notice them creeping up and they have exploded.I don't want them coming out in the silage. Is it too late to spray? Or should I just manually pull them out where I can?


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    #2
    Lime Tree Farm
    Registered Users Posts: 2,659 ✭✭✭Lime Tree Farm


    The dock seeds are green at the moment. What I did one year, was waited until the silage was down, and collected as many as I could out of the swath. You can spray later on, when the leaves reappear.


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    #3
    9935452
    Registered Users Posts: 2,751 ✭✭✭9935452


    Lime Tree Farm wrote: »
    The dock seeds are green at the moment. What I did one year, was waited until the silage was down, and collected as many as I could out of the swath. You can spray later on, when the leaves reappear.

    Thats exactly what one of our customers does. When mowing they pick the docks out of the swarth


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    #4
    kollegeknight
    Registered Users Posts: 3,242 ✭✭✭kollegeknight


    Same here. Pick as many as possible when cut but one year, they shot up so I went out and pulled before cutting.


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    #5
    Track9
    Registered Users Posts: 254 ✭✭Track9


    If seeds are still green , would it be worth considering spot spraying from Tracor or ATV . That way there would be approaching a 100 % kill off on Growing docks ?


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    #6
    TooOldBoots
    Closed Accounts Posts: 604 ✭✭✭TooOldBoots


    Weather is no good for spraying now. Once the plant has gone to seed then by the time the spay has killed it the seeds will have ripened.
    Best option is to cut silage, then wait for regrowth leaves of about 6 inchs+ in size then hit it hard with a spray like forefront.
    Cattle will not eat the dock stems in the silage, they probably wouldn't eat the leaves or seed only its mulched into the silage. It reduces silage quality and no doubt the taste, but a hungry animal will be glad of it next January.


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    #7
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,508 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Track9 wrote: »
    If seeds are still green , would it be worth considering spot spraying from Tracor or ATV . That way there would be approaching a 100 % kill off on Growing docks ?

    You’d tramp an awful lot of silage if it’s any way grown.


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    #8
    Gods Gift
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,713 ✭✭✭Gods Gift


    In a year that fodder will be short the docks will add bulk. And they go through a harvester lovely.


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    #9
    Mules
    Registered Users Posts: 514 ✭✭✭Mules


    I said I'd update the thread in case anyone else has a dock problem. I murdered them all with a handheld weedwiper and glyphosate :)


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    #10
    Hard Knocks
    Registered Users Posts: 3,947 ✭✭✭Hard Knocks


    Mules wrote: »
    I said I'd update the thread in case anyone else has a dock problem. I murdered them all with a handheld weedwiper and glyphosate :)

    Well done
    Keep a lookout in the spring as you may have to hit them for a second time


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