Wherever grassweeds are an issue cereal growers need to put as much care and attention into stubble treatment ahead of their crops as they do into their T2 fungicide spraying, insists Agrii regional technical adviser and spraying specialist David Felce.
How well we manage our stubbles these days is increasingly the difference between success and failure in the battle against problem grassweeds. It can also make all the difference to the health and resilience of our soils.
Increasing reliance on pre-em and peri-em herbicides in place of later post-em winter cereal applications to deal with the likes of black-grass, bromes and Italian ryegrass can easily open the door to wild oats if we are not very careful. As can spring cropping.
Determination, flexibility and, above all, persistence are the three most important ingredients for success in controlling problem grassweeds these days, insists national Grassweed Action co-ordinator, Barrie Hunt.
July is the most important month of the year for grassweed control. With the possible exception of pre-harvest oilseed rape spraying, it may involve no fieldwork. Yet, in the experience of a leading weed management expert, what you do in July is critical to the success of every element of the entire year’s cultural and chemical control programme.
Stephen has given plenary, keynote and other presentations at major international conferences in the UK, the US, Australia, Iran and Belgium.
Barrie Hunt turns his expert attention to managing Italian ryegrass in the latest in our series of articles on getting to grips with problem grassweeds.
Spring cereals can only be effective in dealing with problem grassweeds if they are managed with sufficient establishment care and attention.
Cultivation immediately after harvesting has become standard practice for growers wanting the best control of problem grassweeds ahead of winter cereal drilling. But it’s about the worst thing they can do after oilseed rape if they also want to deal with the volunteers that can be so problematic in arable rotations.
Particularly disappointing in-crop control in the past season makes it vital for growers and their agronomists to step-up their cultural black-grass, brome and ryegrass management efforts this autumn, stresses national Grassweed Action Initiative co-ordinator, Barrie Hunt.
Oilseed rape growers have been advised to make the most of pre-harvest glyphosate in controlling grassweeds this season as well as improving the timeliness and efficiency of their oilseed rape combining.
Spraying-off patches of cereals badly-infested with grassweeds this season can be highly cost-effective in preventing disastrous levels of weed seed return, according to leading agronomy advisers. But only if it is done at the right time and with sufficient care.
A short growing season and limited ability to compensate for setbacks makes it vital to establish spring cereals as rapidly and with as little weed competition as possible. All the more so given the restricted range of in-crop herbicide options available.
Effective cover crop destruction will be more important than ever ahead of spring crops this season to avoid compromising establishment and performance, insist leading industry advisers.
Here is our new video about Grassweed Action - it's time to take control!
Large cover crop canopies that have seen little sustained frosting will need particularly careful management for the most effective destruction, warns Monsanto technical development manager, Barrie Hunt.
Maize growers should apply the stale seedbed approach that has proved so successful in controlling problem weeds ahead of autumn cereals to get their crops off to the best, weed-free start this season.
Substantial increases in spring cropping across the country this season should do much to address black-grass, brome and Italian ryegrass problems. But only if sufficient care and attention is put into their control ahead of and at sowing.
More care and less speed in stubble glyphosate spraying are critical to making the most of its increasingly vital role in arable grass weed control this autumn, insist leading crop management experts.
Making the most of every window of weed control opportunity between crops is now an agronomic essential rather than the valuable ‘weather-permitting’ bonus it used to be.
New guidelines for minimising the risk of glyphosate resistance development published by the Weed Resistance Action Group (WRAG) at Cereals 2015 this week are just what UK growers and agronomists need to safeguard the single most vital weapon in their grass weed control armoury.
Move as little depth of soil as possible, give yourself enough time and use it to greatest effect. These are the three keys to the best, most consistent stale seedbed control of annual grass weeds ahead of drilling identified by independent tillage specialist, Steve Townsend.
There may no longer be any calendar restrictions on spraying to control problem grass weeds in non-cropped land under the new BPS crop diversification or EFA rules but the correct timing of glyphosate applications will be every bit as important.
Spring germinating grass weeds are being let off the hook in a major way by the increased and entirely natural emphasis on more robust autumn chemical and cultural control in response to the growing black-grass challenge, believes ProCam national agronomist.
Including a modern glyphosate with the pre-emergence wheat herbicide application can improve black-grass control by as much as 40%, reveal recent Agrii trials.
Growers must take full advantage of the timely harvest and good soil moisture levels to really hit grass weeds hard ahead of planting this autumn.
After more than three decades of commercial use some people might think there’s little left to learn about their most widely used agrochemical. But the biggest-ever study of glyphosate practice conducted this year to mark Roundup’s 35th anniversary shows quite the opposite.
