Clearing rushes

Jb1989

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Spraying or licking will not get rid of rushers unless continually used. Cutting will weaken any weed if done often enough. Now on some very wed land that can be an issue. However on that type of ground spraying will struggle as well

Most lads only cut rushes once a year. At the he start you need to cut 3-4 times a year to weaken them. Ideally bales up the bulky first cut and dispose of it, a mulcher is not as effective as removal but it is preferable to letting tuskers just sit on the ground smothering the grass regrowth. Then cut as often as possible for rest of the year.

The later the last cut the better of you can get into the field in late September or early October in a dry Autumn great. If you get hard frost when the rush root is open and cut tight with no regrowth it really set them back.

After 2-3 years just keep them topped 2-3 times a year. When they are weak like this continually cutting keeps them weak as well cattle will eat them if they make up a small percentage of the sward and are young and soft regrowths.

There is a huge push to ban MCPA at present it may happen in the next few years so lads will need to figure out ways to control rushers without it.

Other factors to help control them.is soil fertility. There was s no point in getting rid of them if the grass has not enough nutrients to grow. Access to nutrients is controlled by PH. PH on wet ground is alway a battle. Ground lime can be hard to apply and lime loss during the winter is very high. Historically out grandparents or great grandparents used burnt lime on this type of ground. There is a product called Growmax, it a high PH granular burnt lime. It rises pH very fast. I say it would be idea on ground like this applied as early as possible in the spring it would rise the PH of the ground very fast and allow efficiency of nutrients to increase.

P&K would be critical and should be applied as early as possible in the year. For a lot of this type of land that means slurry may not be optimal unless it can be spread in April/May. Use of lighter machinery such as Quads and mane umbilical systems on tractors with wider tyres helps prevent compaction

Drainage may be a long-term solution but the above will still be needed

On our well heavy ground, it took the sprayer to put manners on.
10 years ago I done One year of spraying and a second year to hit the regrowth,
Two thirds of the ground never came back since, other third would have needed touching up twice in that period.

No way am I going back to topping rushes once or three times a year till the mcpa ban-gun has been put to my head.
Better uses for my time than topping.

monseiur

RobinBanks wrote: »

How long would ye normally wait before cutting rushes that were sprayed.

Wait 6 to 8 weeks after spraying, then cut/mulch then drain land as required. Spread 3 bags 10 10 20 or similar per acre.

monseiur

johnytwentyten wrote: »

Hi,

My family have a two acre field which is totally covered in rushes, we want to clean it up and looking for some advice as I have no experience in this area,

From googling it, my plan was to strim the rushes, wait for regrowth, then spray using a mix of mortone and presto, using a quad sprayer (as this is what's recommended in the mortone instructions), I know the field would need to be drained properly to really sort the issue but just want to clean it up first,

Does this sound ok? And if so, how soon could you let animals into the field after spraying, my sister was planning on getting a few donkeys,

Thanks in advance for any replies,

As the field is totally covered in rushes chances are the grass is killed off.
You should give it a good soaking with a glyphosate weed killer Roundup, Gallup or similar.
After 4 to 6 weeks plough, drain and reseed. Not the cheapest option but the best in the long term.
If fences are good get a few sheep, perhaps a few wether lambs. They're much better grazers than donkeys and will keep land in tip top condition and you'll have a regular supply of very cheap organic meat !

Dinzee Conlee

monseiur wrote: »

As the field is totally covered in rushes chances are the grass is killed off.
You should give it a good soaking with a glyphosate weed killer Roundup, Gallup or similar.
After 4 to 6 weeks plough, drain and reseed. Not the cheapest option but the best in the long term.
If fences are good get a few sheep, perhaps a few wether lambs. They're much better grazers than donkeys and will keep land in tip top condition and you'll have a regular supply of very cheap organic meat !

It all sounds like a good plan - but I am not sure you can say ‘spray with roundup’ and then follow up with ‘you’ll have organic meat’

SpraySafely

Jb1989 wrote: »

No way am I going back to topping rushes once or three times a year till the mcpa ban-gun has been put to my head.

Probably best to avoid spraying fields containing livestock then.

Or at least don't publicly admit to doing so.

Jb1989

SpraySafely wrote: »

Probably best to avoid spraying fields containing livestock then.

Or at least don't publicly admit to doing so.

I don't follow, can you explain what you mean a bit more.?

RockOrBog

Any time of year is good to attack the dreaded rush. I cut and 4 weeks later spray. Lime is your friend and fertilize the grass.

Ideally improve the drainage.

Jb1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119444791#Comment_119444791

+1

Anto_Meath

I have a bit of land rented over the road this last few 4 years. There is a 4 acre field in at the back its a bit soft, it was in a bad way with rushes the first year, I topped them around this time of year, it was slow, difficult and hard on shear pins, then I put about 100 kgs of fertilizer on it. At the end of August I sprayed it with MCPA. In fairness that got rid of about 50% of the rushes, done the same the following year 2020. Spring 2021 I put 600 kg of grow lime on it, so last August there was very little rushes in it, but I still topped it, fertilized it and done the few bunches that appeared with the hand lance. In March of this year it got 200 kgs of fertilizer, I had surplus grass this year (due to TB) so I closed off this field in early June, I was planning on strip grazing it, but it got went too strong so I mowed it last Wednesday evening and baled 43 bales of as nice haylage off it on Saturday, I was very extremely happy as I drew the last bale out the gate. I ll give it another dust of fert next week and will probably give it a dust of grow lime again next spring God willing.

RockOrBog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119445276#Comment_119445276

I usually pay around €200 a tonne for granulated lime in 50 kilo bags. I got a few tonne last week for €110 a tonne, I think the rest is subsidised by the government atm.

Sillycave

where did u get gran lime for that cost? Didn’t hear anything about a subsidy, priced some last week and was €220 a ton

RockOrBog

Homeland

Jb1989

They were just a bit strong for spraying, they'll probably need another dose next spring, unless your fit to top them now with the frost, then the green stems might just die come spring.

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983400#Comment_119983400

You should've mowed beforehand and then spray the regrowth 4 or 5 weeks after mowing.

The rush being hard and stemmy, as it is there, can't absorb the spray properly.

MCPA works great here on rushes, I also put small amount of washing up liquid in the spray to help it stick

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985015#Comment_119985015

I suppose regrowth depends on time of year, I mowed them april may when they'd be growing well, they don't be long growing back, don't let them get stemmy and hard again anyway.

Ph would always be alright here

deise man

How much washing up liquid do you add. Thanks

deise man

How much washing up liquid do you add. Th

50HX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122368361#Comment_122368361

Anymore & you'll be plagued with suds when washing out after

deise man

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122370072#Comment_122370072

Sorry, how much do you add? Thanks

50HX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122370842#Comment_122370842

50ml of quix I used to use, I don't bother anymore.

I don't spray rushes anymore unless I've 48hrs of dry weather after guaranteed, better than washing up liquid

deise man

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122373236#Comment_122373236

Perfect thanks

Base price

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122373246#Comment_122373246

Advice - mix/agitate the herbicide in the tank/sprayer before adding washing up liquid otherwise you will have foam bubbling out. When you add the washing up liquid using a tank then just give the tank a quick agitation. If using a knapsack for spot treatment, make sure the lid is secure and give it ten good shakes, set it down on the ground for a few minutes before strapping it on.

Bass Reeves

But a wetting agent, sometimes called a sticker. I would not be messing with washing up liquid.

cute geoge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122374391#Comment_122374391

You must have got a bang in the head or something. Also a mouthful of diesel in the spray tank also does the trick

Jb1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122374391#Comment_122374391

Wouldn't be wasteing time and money with an agent.

Couple good squirts of fairy and a bit of decent weather, all be grand.

V6400

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122373246#Comment_122373246

Ive never bothered with a wetting agent or fairy, I've sprayed young rushes and rushes growing 2 - 3 years, Ive sprayed in good weather and broken weather and never had a failed kill. Dont be over thinking or over complicating things, use max rate mcpa rate and just get the spraying done.

drive it

How much mortone to a 300 ltr tank ,all i can find is so much to a acre/hectare

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122390723#Comment_122390723

How many acres does your tank spray, you wont know how much mortone to put in until you know how many acres the tank sprays

50HX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122391280#Comment_122391280

That will depend on speed, nozzle size, bar psi

The days of sure throw it in & cover what you can are long gone

drive it

It belongs to a neighbour and you couldn't heed what he says to put in as more is better to him. It's a jarmet with blue nozzles and it's running around 3 bar when I tried it with water to see if everything was working