"Once those new pastures are sown, your opportunity to control persistent grass weeds and low-value grass species is very limited," Nufarm Technical Specialist Paul Addison says. Yet the invasion of weed grass species including annual poa, couch, barley grass, bristle grass, brown top and bromes, is a major reason for renewing pastures in the first place.
"These grasses also compete with newly-sown forage crop seedlings for space, light and nutrients, potentially suppressing crop DM yield," Paul says.
Other factors like the weather, and insect pests, will affect your ultimate crop yield, it's true, but many grass weeds are capable of a faster, more aggressive start than crop seedlings which are comparatively slower to get growing.
Controlling grass weeds in the early stages of crop emergence is doubly beneficial, for both the sake of the crop itself, and the long-term persistence and performance of pasture sown subsequently.
- Paul Addison, Nufarm Technical Specialist
One selective post-emergence grass weed herbicide has the benefit of being registered for many crops sown at this time of year - fodder and sugar beet, forage brassicas, chicory, and pure swards of plantain, as well as lucerne. A second application for multi-graze crops such as chicory and plantain can be used for multiple-germinating grass weeds like yellow bristle grass.
SeQuence® is registered on 22 grass weeds, including ryegrasses, annual summer grasses, wild oats, cultivated couch and annual poa, Paul says. Easy to measure, and rainfast in one hour, SeQuence contains the active ingredient clethodim, a Group A herbicide, and is compatible with a range of tank mix partners.
It must always be used with Bonza® Gold and may be tank mixed with broadleaf herbicides, depending on your weed burden, across a wide range of forage crops. For brassicas or fodder beet, Attack® may be added to SeQuence when pest control is needed.
For best results, apply SeQuence and Bonza® Gold to young, actively growing grass weeds, at rates recommended for the species present.
Nufarm has created a comprehensive table listing application rates for all grass weeds on the SeQuence® label to help farmers work out how much herbicide they need to apply in their own situations.
If you're unsure which species are present, your Farm Source Technical Sales Representative can help identify these, and also provide guidance on what broadleaf weed control might be required to get the best out of your crop.
Grazing withholding periods for SeQuence are three weeks for legume crops, forage herbs and forage brassicas, and nine weeks for fodder and sugar beet.
For more advice, talk to your local Farm Source TSR today.
® SeQuence is a registered trademark of Nufarm Australia Limited.
® Bonza Gold, Prestige are registered trademarks of Nufarm Limited.
® Attack is a registered trademark of Nufarm Technologies USA Pty Ltd.
Article supplied by Nufarm.