docks + muck spreading

westlander

Hello all,
We have the dreaded dock in some of our silage fields!
Anyways i do throw out the docks and any waste silage onto the edge of the concrete apron and leave it there until i can spread it out in the field.

But when it comes to muck spreading this stuff am i doing more harm than good spreading the docks out with the muck?

Anybody doing the same as me and getting even more docks?

How do ye deal with this...keep the docs separate from muck?

Thanks,
westlander

PatQfarmer

Dock roots will live/grow anywhere, given the tiniest bit of moisture/organic material. I wouldn't spread them on land, they will regrow.:(

Tora Bora

You simply cannot get rid of docks. Removing docks from the silage as you feed it and keeping them one side, is good and it helps. But a few thousand seeds will have fallen off each plant. Will be eaten by the cattle, and will make way back to your fields again.
Contary to most peoples beliefs, the dock seeds do survive the journey through the animals system, and subsequent few months in slurry or muck. Hey, presto ................... you have a ready supply of seeds for next years crop and many years thereafter:mad:
Best we can hope to do is control the bstrads as best we can.

Muckit

The one sure way to keep docks out us to keep the sward tight as if you were walking on a mat. This way the dock seed has no bare spot to propagate and no light can help them on even if they do catch..... But this is easier said than done

I find it best to pull the worst of them while the crop is stil standing and dump them. This coupled with early cutting date before they head out will keep them at bay.

kkdela6

Spreading too much slurry on the ground early in the ear often scorches the grass and the docks then thrive on the extra potassium. Handy to have a few around the headlands for when ya get an oul nettle sting though

Farmer Pudsey

The only answer to docks is to spray them if you are cutting silage spray in may before they start to flower. I used to use CCMP when I was not worried about clover however it was banned for use on grassland last year. Eagle is the best if you have clover present however if it is old grassland I would not worry about clover. You may have to spray for two years in a row to get a complete kill.

However if you sward is very old I would spray off in the autaum and reseed I still spray with something before cutting silage so as to get stop new seeds from going out next year.Also make sure if you reseed to spray at seedling stage with Legumex.