How do I… use selective herbicides to safely remove common weeds from sown mixed pastures?
The issue: Weeds can invade sown clover/grass pastures, competing for moisture and nutrients over time. Selective herbicides provide additional weed control options to the more common control techniques of spray-grazing, winter cleaning and spray-topping. However, with many herbicides on the market, knowing which herbicides are tough on weeds but safe on desirable species can be confusing.
The impact: Weeds reduce the productivity of the desirable species and while some selective herbicides can kill them, others may cause unacceptable damage, reduce available feed and open the pasture up to further weed invasion.
The opportunity: Selective herbicides offer more management options to extend the productive life of a sown clover/grass, provided label directions are followed and the pasture is managed to minimise pasture damage.