If you have open pastures and you're investing in under-sowing and new ryegrass seed, you'll want to give these areas every chance to establish and produce to their full potential.
After periods of pasture stress, such as wet winters - with pasture pugging, or droughts - with periodic overgrazing, pastures can open up and require some undersowing to perform at their best.
When investing in this process, it can be important to control weeds during establishment to:
- Maximize ryegrass populations
- Reduce weed burden in open pastures
- Maximize pasture production and utilisation
Whether your preferred programme includes Italians for winter/spring production or hybrid/perennial ryegrasses with endophyte for longer term persistence, a pre-graze spray, 4-6 weeks after drilling, or a post graze spray, 7–10 days after grazing can make all the difference. Avoid spraying weeds within 1 month before undersowing as residues from phenoxy herbicides can kill germinating grass seedlings.
With the timing of autumn drilling varying across the country, the best timing for these applications can be during April or May but needs to be prior to soil temperatures dropping below 10ºC for some herbicides.
Herbicide options depend on your situation, but include well-known brands such as Baton® 800WSG, Sprinter® 700DS, Valdo® 800WG and Bonza Gold®. As these undersown situations do not generally include new clovers, these products offer the best for both timing and weed control.
