Published on 23/01/2023
What are the options? If your farmers are preparing summer crop paddocks for new grass, tank mixing Nail 600EC herbicide with Crucial herbicide and Pulse Penetrant will give them control of a wide range of weeds. These include annual poa, bur medic, chickweed, cleavers, mallow, fathen, fumitory, hawksbeard, nettles, prairie grass, oxtongue, speedwell, wireweed and shepherd’s purse.
Nail 600EC is rainfast in one hour and has zero plantback and grazing withholding periods, so farmers don’t face extra delays at what is normally a busy time of the year. Other potential companion herbicides for Crucial include Charter 750WDG, Sero 750WG, Kamba 750, and Archer 750.
A little bit of trouble-shooting can go a long way at this stage of the process, says Nufarm technical specialist Paul Addison.
Each product has a different fit depending on the situation; in all cases Addison advises a thorough check of what weed species are present before making a recommendation.
“Two of the most common pitfalls we see with spraying out for autumn sowing are not using a companion herbicide where one is required, and not using the right rates of glyphosate.”
Weeds can out-grow new pasture seedlings from day one, stealing essential resources and compromising yield and performance. Achieving a clean slate before new seed goes in the ground is especially critical where some form of conservation tillage is used for autumn sowing, such as direct drilling, or no-till, Addison says.
His number one tip? Make sure your farmers check what weeds are present in all paddocks ear-marked for autumn sowing this season before they spray out. If they’re too busy, this is perhaps something that you can help with, he says, and your local Nufarm territory manager will lend a hand if you get stuck on weed identification.
High performance glyphosate herbicide like Crucial and Pulse Penetrant will kill grass and many broadleaf weeds.
“But some broadleaf species, such as clovers, yarrow, dock and buttercup, are not well controlled by glyphosate. Farmers definitely don’t want these in their new grass. They’re not always present, but if they’re not caught now, you miss your best chance of getting rid of them.”
Paddocks coming out of summer crops often have a range of broadleaf weeds, Addison says. Such species require a specialised herbicide strategy for best results, and that’s where tank mixing Crucial with an appropriate partner like Nail 600EC can come into its own.
Addison says farmers have a range of companion herbicide choices available, so it’s important they know how to pick the right one for their situation. Plantback intervals and grazing withholding periods can be different to the combination of Crucial and Pulse.
Even if the main challenge in paddocks to be sown with new pasture is ‘just’ grass weeds, with no companion herbicide required, it’s always worth doing a thorough job of pre-plant spray out.
“Here we’re talking particularly about grassweeds like browntop, couch, mercer grass or paspalum,” Addison says. “These are common in both crop to grass, and grass to grass pasture renewal. If they are present when new grass seed goes in the ground this season, they will stay there for the life of that pasture, undermining your farmer’s investment in seed, fertiliser and paddock preparation every day.”
However, plant biology sides with farmers at this time of year, improving the chance of eliminating low value grasses before they devalue newly sown pasture. That’s because late summer is when such weeds start to move reserves down to their roots in preparation for winter.
Apply the right herbicide now, and the plants’ own internal transport system will carry it where it needs to be for an effective kill, Addison says.
Crucial plus Pulse Penetrant has an ideal fit in this context, thanks to good adhesion, rapid uptake and excellent translocation through the plant tissue.
In autumn, when farmers are busy and the weather is often unpredictable, Crucial and Pulse Penetrant have another key benefit.
Applied as recommended, this combination carries a commercial performance guarantee of 15 minutes rainfastness.
“At this time of the year, most farmers are on a tight schedule to turn those paddocks around and get them back into production as soon as possible, so 15 minute rainfastness can make a big difference.”
Paddocks sprayed with Crucial can be grazed, cultivated or drilled just one day after application for annual weeds, and three days for perennial weeds.
For more detail talk to your local Nufarm territory manager.