I'm in year 2 of no tilling all my food plots. I follow the dbltree rotation pretty religiously. Last year my brassicas were taken over by pigweed. I mowed the rye last week. I was thinking this year I should spray the clover/rye a few weeks early and then spray it again 10-14 days possibly with 2 4 d to kill the pigweed that will no doubt germinate. I know 2 4 d has a little residual affect so I would have to wait to plant the brassica mix. Does this seem logical or should I do something different?
DannyBoy
Well-Known Member
I think it seems logical. It's just going to be a struggle for a few years until you get ahead of the seed bank. Seeding your brassicas a week or two later will still be worth while.
I know you are stuck on dbltree rotation but if it remains a problem, consider breaking that rotation next year and going rr or liberty ready. Another consideration is mowing your rye with a sickle bar and allowing it to smother weeds. Eventually it loses affect but delays weed seed germination, which may mean you're spraying seedlings rather than mature weeds ahead of your brassicas.
I know you are stuck on dbltree rotation but if it remains a problem, consider breaking that rotation next year and going rr or liberty ready. Another consideration is mowing your rye with a sickle bar and allowing it to smother weeds. Eventually it loses affect but delays weed seed germination, which may mean you're spraying seedlings rather than mature weeds ahead of your brassicas.
HorseDoctor
PMA Member
I would hit it twice at 2 week (or longer) intervals with glyphosate (RU) and plant away. If that doesn't work this year, consider using Liberty herbicide next year.
Booner
Well-Known Member
X2
Pigweed sucks, period. Sometimes is easier to fold em instead of dumping money into a problem that can't be resolved via post emergent herbicide. Like dannyboy said it may be a better bet to get out from under your current rotation and start over.
If it was me and pigweed is as bad as say, I'd spray in the early spring kill what you can off, then cultivate, then put down a solid pre emergent herbicide program; a double shot of spray-cultivate-spray then go ahead and plant your mix for that fall. I know you said your trying to no-till but sometimes you have no other options, especially if your seed bank is as good as it sounds. Herbicides will only do so much on some of that stuff, especially with pigweed inside of brassica's/broadleaf crop.
If you do go with a 24-D make sure your running enough water/acre and be careful on going over recommended rate especially if your running 6lb vs 4lb; the carry over can do a number on your brassicas.
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Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I tried uploading some pictures of what I have now, but it didn't work. I have a fairly decent ground cover of rye thatch/mulch. Maybe I will have to break the rotation for a few years until I can get a handle on the pigweed. I was also thinking about planting the rye a little heavier to create more mulch so the pigweed wouldn't germinate. I don't know if there is anything worse than dealing with pigweed.
I have a pigweed problem as well. I plan to plant alfalfa this fall. I've been discing the field every 2-3 weeks to kill anything that starts to grow. I'll do this until August then I'll plant the alfalfa. Since I'll be mowing the alfalfa regularly the pigweed next year won't be able to develop seed heads. I'll be seeing it for a couple of years until the seed bed is minimized but I think it will work. I talked to the local spraying company and they agree it makes sense.