In fact, it’s the last thing you want in pure stands of forage brassica, chicory, plantain, and/or fodder beet.
Why? Because grass species can germinate and grow so much faster than forage crops, they compromise your dry matter (DM) yield as soon as they emerge.
“It’s really important to reduce that competition,” says Sonja Vreugdenhil, Technical Specialist for Nufarm. “Otherwise the crop will struggle.”
“Every day you hold off applying weed control, it can be reducing your yield. If you’re going to put a crop in, put it in and look after it, or you will be disappointed when it comes to grazing.”
- Sonja Vreugdenhil, Technical Specialist for Nufarm.
Ryegrass from pasture that has been sprayed out for the crop is one of the most common issues. But all grasses are troublesome, including poa, couch, barley grass, bristle grass, brown top, and brome.
Sonja’s advice is to spray out any grass weeds as early as possible. Grass weeds should have 5-10 cm of leaf at spraying and grass herbicide applied prior to canopy closure.
“Every day you hold off applying weed control, it can be reducing your yield. If you’re going to put a crop in, put it in and look after it, or you will be disappointed when it comes to grazing.”
One selective post-emergence grass weed herbicide has the advantage of being registered for many spring-sown forage crops – fodder and sugar beet, forage brassicas, chicory, and pure swards of plantain.
SeQuence® contains the active ingredient clethodim (MOA Group 1) and is registered on 22 grass weeds, including ryegrasses, annual summer grasses, wild oats, cultivated couch and annual poa.
Best results come from applying SeQuence when target grasses are actively growing. This only happens when soil moisture and temperature are at the right level to support growth, so it pays to be aware of how conditions are shaping up at the start of the season.
“Do your weed control when the grasses are actively growing. With El Niño predicted this year, for example, we know there’s a chance of hot, dry conditions in some regions.
Ryegrass growth slows when temperatures exceed 25°C, paired with dry conditions, the heat of summer may not be the ideal time for controlling it.”
Likewise it’s important to make sure you use the correct label rates for the grass weed(s) present, and target plants are the right size for SeQuence to be most effective. SeQuence has a one hour rain fast period.
Grazing withholding periods for SeQuence are three weeks for legume crops, forage herbs and forage brassicas; and nine weeks for fodder and sugar beet.
SeQuence must always be used with Bonza® Gold and may be tank mixed with Archer® or Prestige® if broadleaf weed control is also required in forage brassicas. Attack may be added to SeQuence when pest control is needed.
For more advice on stopping grass from compromising your forage crop yields this season, talk to your TSR today.
® Sequence and Archer are registered trademarks of Nufarm Australia Limited.
® Bonza Gold and Prestige are registered trademarks of Nufarm Limited.