Post first cut dock control in silage fields
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Spraying docks 2-3 weeks after the first cut of silage when sufficient regrowth has occurred, (200mm dinner plate size), presents an excellent opportunity to get good levels of control. If a spray contractor will be doing this work, then it is a good idea to get them booked in based on the planned cutting date.
For best control of docks, apply Doxstar® Pro at 2L/ha in 300L/ha of water. Ideally, allow 28 days before the next cut, although most of the product will have translocated throughout the weed by 21 days to give excellent long-term control. This will minimise the amount of dying weed biomass that will be cut and put into the silage clamp.
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Forefront T - the best solution for broad spectrum weed control
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Forefront® T is the best grassland herbicide available for the long-term control of broad-leaved dock, curled dock, creeping thistle, spear thistle, common nettle, dandelion, creeping buttercup, and ragwort in grassland grazed only by cattle or sheep.
Use it to rejuvenate grassland where high populations of any of these pernicious yield robbing weeds are present.
Forefront T is very safe to grass so will not hold back grass growth after application.
Use Forefront T at 2L/ha in 200-300L/ha of water. With a grazing interval of 7 days, stock can return quickly, but if decaying ragwort plants are present, these can become more palatable to stock, so wait for the plants to fully decay, or recover, and there is no visual sign of the dead weed before allowing stock to graze again.
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Maximise your maize yield with BlueN
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With the UK maize crop now drilled, soil and air temperatures increasing combined with moisture availability, we are seeing rapid emergence and growth of the crop. We wanted to remind you of BlueN™, a nutrient efficiency biostimulants. BlueN contains a bacterium, Methylobacterium symbioticum, that converts nitrogen from a sustainable source, the atmosphere, into ammonium inside the plant. This is then used to build essential amino acids used for plant growth.
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In trials 60% of BlueN treated plots yielded better than the control.
Key information about BlueN:
- Apply BlueN on top of your planned fertiliser regime.
- Apply from 4-8 true leaves of the crop.
- Apply BlueN when the crop is not stressed and is actively growing.
- BlueN is applied at 0.333kg/ha (available in 9ha packs).
- Use on the day of opening and when stomata are open, usually morning or late afternoon.
- More information about BlueN and tank mix list can be found by visiting: www.corteva.co.uk/bluen.
To find out more about BlueN use on maize, click here to watch our short video.
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Not sure which pioneer silage inoculant to choose as you plan for second cut grass?
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Take a look at the decision tree and inoculant descriptions below or click here to find out more about our silage inoculant range.
Check silage coefficients by forage to be sure about the ensiling challenge.
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1188: Ensures the best possible preservation in wetter grass (<25% dry matter) and low sugar situations because of the unique proprietary and complimentary bacterial strains it contains. These strains work in harmony to rapidly and efficiently lower the pH.
11G22 RR: In addition to lowering the pH quickly, 11G22 is able to achieve aerobic stability from as soon as 7 days after sealing, weeks faster than when compared to non-Rapid React formulation Pioneer inoculants.
11GFT: Triple mode of action; improves fermentation, aerobic stability and fibre digestibility. Incorporates patented microbial technology that leads to improved fibre digestibility due to the production of ferulate esterase enzymes.
11A44: Dramatically reduces heating in a wide range of high dry matter silages including high dry matter grass. Good choice where heating challenge is significant due to high dry matter content, longer chop, summer or slow feed-out, or low compaction levels.
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Best solutions for thistle control
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Why control thistles:
- They reduce the area of grass available for grazing.
- They are unpalatable to stock.
- They facilitate the spread of Orf.
When to control thistles:
- Treat thistles at the vegetative ‘rosette’ stage, 150mm-250mm across or high, use the spray timing indicator in the Corteva Forage App to identify the ideal growth stage.
How to control thistles:
- Cut down tall, flowering thistles, and treat when sufficient regrowth has occurred.
- Don’t treat stressed weeds, as they will not be actively growing, and herbicides will not be translocated down to the roots. It is likely that the grass will also be stressed and could be affected.
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Herbicide options for thistle control:
- Where thistles dominate, spray with Thistlex® at 1L/ha in 200-400L/ha of water. Thistlex controls all species of thistles.
- If the area populated by thistles is less than 5%, it is more economical to spot treat with either Grazon® Pro or Grazon® Spot.
- If additional weeds such as docks and nettles are present, and the situation allows, use Pas® ·Tor® Agronomy Pack.
Use the flowchart below to see which Corteva control options are available for grazed and cutting situations.
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Buttercups - know your target
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There are 3 main species of buttercup: creeping, meadow and bulbous. Read on to find out how to distinguish the three species.
Creeping buttercup:
- Distinguished from other species by the way it grows and spreads via runners.
- Leaves are hairy, have 3 lobes and appear to have frayed edges.
- Flowering from May to August with golden cupped flowers measuring approximately 2cm across.
- Can grow up to 50cm in height.
Meadow buttercup:
- Flowering from April to October with yellow flowers.
- Each flower comprises of five shiny petals.
- Flowers measure approximately 2cm across.
- Can grow up to 1m in height.
Bulbous buttercup:
- Has a bulb like, swollen underground stem.
- The stem above ground is hairy.
- Leaves have 3 lobes.
- Flowering from March to May with bright yellow flowers.
- Grows 10-30cm in height.
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For best control of all 3 species, use Envy® at 2L/ha in 150-400L/ha of water. Apply when the buttercups are actively growing and before flowering. Useful control of buttercup can still be obtained post-flowering, but control can be 10% less than from a pre-flowering application.
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- Significantly reduce heating, aerobic spoilage and lower dry matter losses.
- Reduce yeast and mould populations to just 0.1% of untreated control silages.
- Maintain aerobic stability in maize and cereal wholecrop silage for longer than silages treated with 5 litres of Proprionic acid.
- Provide a biological product type that is easy to use, and safer to use than acids or acid salts.
When to use 11A44:
- Grass silage 25 - 45% dry matter.
- Fermented wholecrop cereal silage 25% - 45% dry matter.
- Maize silage 25% - 45% dry matter.
- Crimped maize and cereal gains <65% dry matter.
All Pioneer silage inoculants are available in water-soluble form packed in different bottle sizes suitable for use in all standard tank mix applicators and Pioneer Appli-Pro® applicators. Easy and convenient to mix and apply. Ready to apply when mixed with water.
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Guidance for controlling ragwort
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Why control ragwort:
- Ragwort is one of the most frequent causes of plant poisoning of livestock.
- Livestock will not usually eat ragwort while it is growing, but when it has been cut and has wilted it becomes much more attractive and palatable.
When to control ragwort:
- It is important to target smaller plants, showing active growth, whilst they are still at the rosette stage, up to 200mm across.
- Treat before the ragwort moves into the stem extension growth stage. At this stage they will senesce more quickly enabling stock return sooner.
How to control ragwort:
- For best control in cattle and sheep grazing fields, use Forefront® T at 2L/ha in 200-300L/ha of water. Grazing animals should be excluded from treated areas until any ragwort has completely recovered or died and there is no visible sign of the dead weed.
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Managing weeds in newly sown leys
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Reseeding is an important part of grassland management and is essential for maintaining productive grassland. Success can be contingent on dealing with broad-leaved weeds.
The most common weed issues after reseeding are chickweed; fat hen; mayweed; redshank; docks; and thistles. It will be more cost effective and control levels will be higher when treating seedling weeds rather than waiting and controlling them later as mature plants.
Leystar® controls the broadest range of broad-leaved weeds, including seedling thistles. Use at 1L/ha in 150-400L/ha of water from 1st February to 31st August. Available in a 2L pack which treats 2ha.
Envy® can be applied to new sown leys at 1.5 L/ha in 150-400L/ha of water from 1st February to 30th November, and is the best solution where the main focus is docks, particularly where they emerge from root fragments. Available in a 3L pack which treats 2ha.
Both solutions give excellent grass safety, are rain fast within 2 hours and have a grazing interval of 7 days in the absence of ragwort. These products will kill clover, if present.
For weed lists and more details on product use, go to the Corteva Forage App, select 'Weed Control' on the home screen and then click 'Products and labels'.
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New solutions for managing weeds in maize
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Both control a wide range of grass and broad-leaved weeds and have minimal following crop restrictions enabling greater flexibility on post-harvest cover crop planting decisions.
Both are WDG formulations and must be applied with an adjuvant that is classified as 95% w/w oil (rapeseed triglycerides).
Principal Forte contains 510g/kg of dicamba + 62g/kg of nicosulfuron + 31g/kg of rimsulfuron, 31g/kg isoxadifen safener. It is applied at 480g/ha. The pack size is 2.4 kg so each pack treats 5ha. Apply from 2 to 9 leaves unfolded (BBCH 12-19) between 1st May and 31st July.
Dragster contains 148.15g as/kg rimsulfuron + 92.6g as/kg thifensulfuron-methyl + 111.1g/kg isoxadifen safener. The pack contains 405g of product so each pack treats 3ha. Apply from 3 to 8 leaves unfolded (BBCH 13-18) between 1st May and 31st July.
For weed lists and more details on use, go to the Corteva Forage App, select 'Weed Control' on the home screen and then click 'Products and Labels'.
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Q: Are creeping thistle and spear thistle both controlled by Thistlex®?
A: Yes, Thistlex controls all species of thistle. It has an approval for boom applications only. If you want to control thistles in grass that will be cut for silage or hay, then spot treat with Grazon® Pro or Grazon® Spot.
A: It is a small pack version of Grazon Pro. It will treat 8 x 10 litre knapsack fills, so ideal for those spraying smaller areas.
Q: How can I minimise risk to livestock when spraying ragwort?
A: Spray before stem extension so that plants decay quickly. Only return stock once all plant material has decayed and is no longer visible.
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