My Nemesis -- RUSHES

Farming Novice

Hi all,

I am relatively new to farming. Our land would never be considered as great land but over last year the ruses have gotten out of control and are now in fields they never were.

I want to know is there any way of clearing a field or rushes or at the very least a management system that i can put in place to keep them at bay. A neighbour has the same problem so he mowed the fields and now its like a swamp. Our land is dry but some corners are now wet and drying out slowly.

I have heard of a machine called a "rush lick" but never seen one so dunno if its any good or even worth investing in. Also if i cut the rushes is there anything i can do with them other than burn them??

Any advice would be great. My end goal is to get cattle back on the land but i want to get this under control first.

Regards
Farming Novice.

dharn

Rush licker /weedlicker is a machine that looks like a roller covered in matrrial that brushes over the rushes without touching the grass, suitable for smooth ground as you use strong roundup mix which will kill the grass if it touches it they can be hired in some areas

Farming Novice

I must look into if anyone does that for hire in my area. Once i got the rushes under control i was thinking of getting one field ploughed, and reseeded an dse if the results get rid of the rushes all together. What you think?

Green farmer

Other then chemicals , any other ways of getting rid on rushes

rushvalley

First of all cutting rushes is a waste of time and diesel as they come back just as strong afterwards. I'd look into hiring someone with a sprayer or rush licker. Improving the drainage in the wet spots will also help control them as rushes like wet ground.

Farming Novice

To be honest i have not heard of any other way of killing rushes. Do you know of a way that does not involve chemicals??

Farming Novice

Ya i am going getting all the land kitted and booted with better drainage. How often would i need to run the rush licker over the rushes? If i need to do it more than once a year every year would it be worth looking into buying one?

dharn

If you are ploughing/ reseeding the area with the rushes then burn everything off with an ordinary sprayer, weed licker only if you are trying to preserve grass and kill the rushes

Farming Novice

I want to try make the rushes a thing of the past so i was thinking if i licked the rushes and ploughed/seeded but if you think burning the lot first before ploughing and reseeding is better i'd rather do that!! What is best to use to burn the lot? And when is the best time of year to reseed?

dharn

Probably springtime for wet ground as it will have the summer to establish roundup 3 ,4 pints to the acre

gozunda

Green farmer wrote: »

Other then chemicals , any other ways of getting rid on rushes

The way of doing this before round up etc was to dig the rushes and rootball up and drop the ball back into the hole with roots upwards - this method buried the green parts and exposed the roots so that they became desicated and died. I remember it being used successfully when I was younger.

it was done by hand with spades etc however with mini digger and a small bucket attachment this could be done much easier.

Perhaps worth a try. Frequent topping so the rushes don't flower and seed is also very important in maintaining control on an annual basis. They still grow but you weaken them by topping them just before flowering the the plants put the maximum amout of energy into producing the flowering part. Timing is important in this method - get the time wrong and your wasting effort.

Nekarsulm

The only realistic way is either spray the field with a spray designed to target Rushes, or weed-lick with round-up or any of the generic round-up chemicals. Do whatever drainage you plan to do if old drains are blocked and boiling up in places. otherwise mole ploughing might be worth looking at, if there is a sufficient fall on the field. Get the soil sampled, your fields probably need a good dose of Lime, as rushes in otherwise dryish fields can be an indicator of lime deficiency. Having said that, after 2012, and the nearly 18 months of rain, rushes gained a foothold in lots of places they had not been before. If you spray, expect to have to repeat a few times, perhaps annually for a few years, to gain the upper hand. Good thing is, they rot away quite quickly once dead.

feartuath

I've got a bad patch of rushes but can't spray as in AOES species rich grassland,
Can only cut after 15 July which is waste of time and diesel and they seem to grow back heavier.

Nekarsulm

feartuath wrote: »

I've got a bad patch of rushes but can't spray as in AOES species rich grassland,
Can only cut after 15 July which is waste of time and diesel and they seem to grow back heavier.

Can you not weedlick them, before the native species grow high enough high enough to be hit by the roller?

Or are the rushes themselves considered a heritage species?

If they are, I'm elected so, with a wide spectrum of heritage rushes, ans should apply for whatever payments I can get.

Nekarsulm

I had an Uncle, now passed away, who bought a "hand weed-licker". Just a plastic handle with a Y on the end, with a piece of absorbent rope between the arms of the Y. You filled the handle with pure Round-up and he would bring it with him when checking the cattle. Any rush or ragworth etc. he met on the way, got a rub of the licker.
Google "microwipe"

monseiur

Mortone is the cheapest weedkiller for rushes and it does not kill grass etc. it's €25 a gallon, 10 gallons would cover a good few acres, add washing up liqid or similar for adhesion.
Drain land and spread ground limestone.

M.

Farmer Pudsey

Rushes on heavy land can be a battle. I would be slow reseeding unless I knew I had got the better of them. Spraying is the best method of control. MCPA based sprays are the best and 10L is around 40 euro. It is sprayed at 2-4L/acre I think. However while it is easy on grass it kill a load of other broadleafs weeds and clover. You need to use an additive/sticker with it this softens the wax on the leaf and allows the weedkiller to stick to the leaf.

If you have a lot of rushes I would be inclined to buy a sprayer and spray youself. Most contractors are hard to get to spray and you own sprayer will save you money very fast. The polish made sprayers (Jarmack is the manfacturer) are a basic cheap sprayer and 1200 euro will buy you a 300L sprayer wiith 8-12M booms. Make sure you get galvanised booms as painted one will corrode over time.

Fertility and ph is very important. Grass find it hard to compete with rushes unless the ph is above 6 idealy 6.5 and P&K are readily available. P is very important as on wetter ground grass requires a lot of it. Historically our grandparents used a good bit of Slag which helped neutralised the PH and provided loads of P. Spreading groundlime stone may be problematic due to machinery weight on land, however using own tractor and fertlizer spreader may be an option and the use of fertlizer type lime (granlime may be an option). there are also some forms of slag on the market that can be bought in bulk however they cost in the region of 50-100 euro/ton for different products. Spreading these again is an issue.

Reseeding is the last thing I would do, I would first make sure that I had the rushes under control before going down that road. Reseeding will not get rid of them. The rush seed can survive for 70-100 years if in the ground (the dock seed is similar). Topping helps as it weakens the plant however to be sucessful it needs to be done 2-4 times a year and this may not be feasible on heavy land. However if you can top 3 time a year and your fertility and ph is right you will be supprised at how much the land will improve.

dharn

Farmer pudsey, you should publish a book on farming, always great answers, full of information,

tomwaterford

monseiur wrote: »

Mortone is the cheapest weedkiller for rushes and it does not kill grass etc. it's €25 a gallon, 10 gallons would cover a good few acres, add washing up liqid or similar for adhesion.
Drain land and spread ground limestone.

M.

can they be sprayed after fertilizer applied or would I be wasting money and killing grass
ive a field that a few years ago was all rush and from topping (has its place IMO) have nearly 90% killed...it was never overly wet and with cutting away rushes seems to have dryed it a good bit:o...would love to get a good kill to begin to finish them off
also what would be rough cost on soil test and roughly cost of fixing P and K etc...as its years and years since anything wa sdone,even lime-spreading

Farmer Pudsey

tomwaterford wrote: »

can they be sprayed after fertilizer applied or would I be wasting money and killing grass
ive a field that a few years ago was all rush and from topping (has its place IMO) have nearly 90% killed...it was never overly wet and with cutting away rushes seems to have dryed it a good bit:o...would love to get a good kill to begin to finish them off
also what would be rough cost on soil test and roughly cost of fixing P and K etc...as its years and years since anything wa sdone,even lime-spreading

Not really MCPA is not as sevear on grass as othe weedkillers. It will also kill thistle's, nettle's. set back docks( if used year after year it will virtually kill them especially if using an activator) kill dandloin.s daisy,s etc. Short term loss will mean increased production in the medium term. Also fertlizer should help prevent grass check just like lawn weed killers (these are a mixture of fertlizer and weedkiller).

Cost of a soil sample is between 17-25/sample. Check teagasc and local co-op

Western Pomise

Due to a lot of our land we are 'experts' in Rush control,without going into names of various chemical treatments and their pros and cons too much I feel that for heavy ground spraying or licking is more feasible than idea of topping several times a year.,one factor that makes that difficult is our weather( you may not get into wet fields to top the few times you would need to in any given year)...another negative to topping is that you will inevitably be cutting some useful grass and using dear diesel.
However at least with consistent licking or spraying you can keep rushes under control......if dealing with strong rushes its a waste of time trying to lick them first time out,better to spray or mow them and then possibly lick them as they green up afterwards that year or the next year.

tomwaterford

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Not really MCPA is not as sevear on grass as othe weedkillers. It will also kill thistle's, nettle's. set back docks( if used year after year it will virtually kill them especially if using an activator) kill dandloin.s daisy,s etc. Short term loss will mean increased production in the medium term. Also fertlizer should help prevent grass check just like lawn weed killers (these are a mixture of fertlizer and weedkiller).

Cost of a soil sample is between 17-25/sample. Check teagasc and local co-op

im hoping to look into soil testing later in the year...possibly be july/augest
the thing is I had to spread the fertilizer this week as I have ewes lambing...
how badly would it affect grass growth...or when would it be best to spray rushes (they are 1-3 inches at the minute)
....sorry for all the questions its just would like to make a bit of head way in killing them f**king rushes

PS also when soil sample done,would they tell you what had to be done??
-like what would have to be spread in terms lime etc

Farmer Pudsey

tomwaterford wrote: »

im hoping to look into soil testing later in the year...possibly be july/augest
the thing is I had to spread the fertilizer this week as I have ewes lambing...
how badly would it affect grass growth...or when would it be best to spray rushes (they are 1-3 inches at the minute)
....sorry for all the questions its just would like to make a bit of head way in killing them f**king rushes

PS also when soil sample done,would they tell you what had to be done??
-like what would have to be spread in terms lime etc

Idealy soil samples should not be taken after P&K are spread as you will not get a true result. You need dryish frost free weather. If you have only spread N you can soil test however is P&K or slurry spread it is not a true reading. You must also avoid dung pads.

P is the critical element on wet land imo. I would consider the basic slags
http://www.donedeal.ie/fertilisers-for-sale/super-slag-basic/4694909

Products like this will yield results however price is the issue it is about 70/ton delivered not spread.

Western Pomise

tomwaterford wrote: »

im hoping to look into soil testing later in the year...possibly be july/augest
the thing is I had to spread the fertilizer this week as I have ewes lambing...
how badly would it affect grass growth...or when would it be best to spray rushes (they are 1-3 inches at the minute)
....sorry for all the questions its just would like to make a bit of head way in killing them f**king rushes

PS also when soil sample done,would they tell you what had to be done??
-like what would have to be spread in terms lime etc

They sound very low in height,you are better letting them grow to at least three or four times that before spraying them as the whole point is that the spray has to firstly stick to the outside membrane of the rush(using a sticking agent in mix will help this)....then it needs to soak through over time and make its way down to kill the rootball....so you need a decent height of green rush to allow adequate area for spray product penetration to maximise kill rate....hope that makes sense.

tomwaterford

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Idealy soil samples should not be taken after P&K are spread as you will not get a true result. You need dryish frost free weather. If you have only spread N you can soil test however is P&K or slurry spread it is not a true reading. You must also avoid dung pads.

P is the critical element on wet land imo. I would consider the basic slags
http://www.donedeal.ie/fertilisers-for-sale/super-slag-basic/4694909

Products like this will yield results however price is the issue it is about 70/ton delivered not spread.

I have 18-6-12 spread (all I had...usually get this every year would like to get it tested to have idea of what is proper to spread...it might be small farm-no reason not to try do things correctly IMO)

I know I should have done before spreading/ordering fertilizer:o:o

how long should I wait to do soil test-will it be ok to do late june/early july??

tomwaterford

Western Pomise wrote: »

They sound very low in height,you are better letting them grow to at least three or four times that before spraying them as the whole point is that the spray has to firstly stick to the outside membrane of the rush(using a sticking agent in mix will help this)....then it needs to soak through over time and make its way down to kill the rootball....do you need a decent height of green rush to allow adequate area for spray product penetration to maximise kill rate....hope that makes sense.

thanks I was thinking as much myself...was hoping to graze out field and hopfully they would be 4-6 inches for beginning may and spray then (I must possibly be the only person wanting rushes to grow:pac:--I find sheep are inclined to clip them back when they are short/not as stemmy)

farmernewbie

Western Pomise wrote: »

They sound very low in height,you are better letting them grow to at least three or four times that before spraying them as the whole point is that the spray has to firstly stick to the outside membrane of the rush(using a sticking agent in mix will help this)....then it needs to soak through over time and make its way down to kill the rootball....so you need a decent height of green rush to allow adequate area for spray product penetration to maximise kill rate....hope that makes sense.

Hi Western Pomise,

I have reseeded ground but some light rushes are appearing here and there. Don't have a sprayer and it's not bad enough to hire a contractor. You reckon I could hit them with a knapsack sprayer spot spraying and keep them under control that way? Or is that madness?

Western Pomise

farmernewbie wrote: »

Hi Western Pomise,

I have reseeded ground but some light rushes are appearing here and there. Don't have a sprayer and it's not bad enough to hire a contractor. You reckon I could hit them with a knapsack sprayer spot spraying and keep them under control that way? Or is that madness?

Not madness at all,but what size of area are you talking about......the bigger the area the more patience and time to do using knapsack.....if the 'area' of all the small bunches of rushes added up to say an acre it might be worth it just to pay a lad to lick them for you on a once off.

farmernewbie

Western Pomise wrote: »

Not madness at all,but what size of area are you talking about......the bigger the area the more patience and time to do using knapsack.....if the 'area' of all the small bunches of rushes added up to say an acre it might be worth it just to pay a lad to lick them for you on a once off.

Well less than an acre, just a few bad spots here and there. What chemical would you recommend if I am using a knapsack?

monseiur

farmernewbie wrote: »

Well less than an acre, just a few bad spots here and there. What chemical would you recommend if I am using a knapsack?

I would advice you to wait for at least another 3 to 4 weeks to get a maximum kill, there is very little growth yet, better wait for all the dormant seed to grow to 4 to 5 inches, then use Mortone or similar, add some washing up liquid.

M.

farmernewbie

monseiur wrote: »

I would advice you to wait for at least another 3 to 4 weeks to get a maximum kill, there is very little growth yet, better wait for all the dormant seed to grow to 4 to 5 inches, then use Mortone or similar, add some washing up liquid.

M.

Thanks, will do not planning on doing it for at least a few weeks. May even take a cut of silage and then do it or even do it before and after a cut of silage.

bbam

farmernewbie wrote: »

Thanks, will do not planning on doing it for at least a few weeks. May even take a cut of silage and then do it or even do it before and after a cut of silage.

If your going to cut silage get out and top whatever rush there is there at the same time as sowing fertilizer... silage is too expensive to make to be gathering up rushes in it..

Green farmer

When would you want to top them by to prevent flowering ?

bbam

Green farmer wrote: »

When would you want to top them by to prevent flowering ?

Don't worry about seeding.
If they have seeded before ever then the damage is done. Ground where rushes are are so saturated with seed that another year seed makes no odds.
Typically ground with rushes can have 70,000 seeds per sq meter and they stay viable for 80 years.
Focus on eliminating them, or as is more likely controlling them as eliminating them is near on impossible.

farmernewbie

bbam wrote: »

If your going to cut silage get out and top whatever rush there is there at the same time as sowing fertilizer... silage is too expensive to make to be gathering up rushes in it..

I'm selling this stuff, sure they will just add bulk....

GrandSoftDay

farmernewbie wrote: »

I'm selling this stuff, sure they will just add bulk....

You expecting repeat customers?

farmernewbie

GrandSoftDay wrote: »

You expecting repeat customers?

It is a repeat customer.....only a hand full in it but need to keep on top of them.

Western Pomise

farmernewbie wrote: »

Well less than an acre, just a few bad spots here and there. What chemical would you recommend if I am using a knapsack?[/quote
The advantage of Mortone is that it is not too severe on grass,will really only kill the rush,whereas likes of roundup kills grass as well,and is more severe on the ground around the rush base.

hugo29

cut them to the bone now, spray them with mortone when they start growing, cut yer silage, spray them again after and you will be rid of the fcukers for a few years, keep spraying every year to control

if you could also subsoil it would be a great job

Round Bale

hugo29 wrote: »

cut them to the bone now, spray them with mortone when they start growing, cut yer silage, spray them again after and you will be rid of the fcukers for a few years, keep spraying every year to control

if you could also subsoil it would be a great job

Couple bags 0:10:20 to acre, and a bag of Granlime, helps no end along with your recommendations above.

Farmer Pudsey

Unless they are very strong I would see no point in cutting now. I would fertlize land for silage,going strong with P&K. Use 1-2 bags of granlime/acre as it will get PH right for grass quickly. Maybe use a mixture (2-3 bags of each) of 18-6-12 and 10-10-20 for silage ground if slurry is not available or maybe it cannot be spread.

In a months time spray with MCPA and an activator at the stated rate. The MCPA rate is 3.3L/HA (1.3L/acre). Morotone is just a brand name for MCPA so shop around and buy the cheapest. Look at the label you are looking for MCPA500 (50%) as the activate ingredient. I would wait until other weeds are activately growing and get a good clean on the land. The sooner you get in the more likly the grass is to tiller at ther base. I be slow to top existing rush unless it is quite strong

Round Bale

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Unless they are very strong I would see no point in cutting now. I would fertlize land for silage,going strong with P&K. Use 1-2 bags of granlime/acre as it will get PH right for grass quickly. Maybe use a mixture (2-3 bags of each) of 18-6-12 and 10-10-20 for silage ground if slurry is not available or maybe it cannot be spread.

In a months time spray with MCPA and an activator at the stated rate. The MCPA rate is 3.3L/HA (1.3L/acre). Morotone is just a brand name for MCPA so shop around and buy the cheapest. Look at the label you are looking for MCPA500 (50%) as the activate ingredient. I would wait until other weeds are activately growing and get a good clean on the land. The sooner you get in the more likly the grass is to tiller at ther base. I be slow to top existing rush unless it is quite strong

On that subject, of spraying with MCPA. Do you recommend a similar tactic, as a general clean up of silage ground. I don't want to go to the full expense of reseeding. Have had soil samples done. Will be topping up on the P&K, plus 1.5 bags granlime as recommended right after grazing off. Cattle going out tomorrow.
Then thinking of spraying the whole lot with High Load Mircam, after say a months growth.
Somebody else reckoned I should hold off on spraying until week before cutting.
Weeds include, buttercups, dandeloins, docks, and other weed grasses.

Thanks

Farmer Pudsey

Round Bale wrote: »

On that subject, of spraying with MCPA. Do you recommend a similar tactic, as a general clean up of silage ground. I don't want to go to the full expense of reseeding. Have had soil samples done. Will be topping up on the P&K, plus 1.5 bags granlime as recommended right after grazing off. Cattle going out tomorrow.
Then thinking of spraying the whole lot with High Load Mircam, after say a months growth.
Somebody else reckoned I should hold off on spraying until week before cutting.
Weeds include, buttercups, dandeloins, docks, and other weed grasses.

Thanks

I would be slow waiting until a week before cutting. THe reason is trying to get a window to spray and why bale up dead rubbishy material that has little feed value into bales. The loss in grass check early in the growth should be made up for in quality and in extra grass dsue to no compedition from weeds rushes. Heavier growth is harder to get sprays down to bottom of sward to kill flat weeds at bottom as well as weeds going to seed beinf less suspectible to spray. If rushes not an issue I would go with Hi-load micram however you will recieve a small check on growth.

Voodoo_rasher

Can rush be successfully cut (or sprayed for that matter) if the land is badly poached? Had a 'shiptar tenant 2 years running , coinciding with torrential conditions during both the 'back-ends /

The land has firmed up since beginning of April though would be very bumpy to drive on . Is there merit to using double wheel?

And what follow-up treatment for the land itself? Its heavy, clay-ey soil. thanks