Charlie007
Well-Known Member
Is there any way to get rid of it? Its starting to encroach on my hay field. I know it has very very long roots and i have heard people say its impossible to get rid of?
Any experiences?
Any experiences?
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mares tail ...the plant!
- Thread starter Charlie007
- Start date
Shay
Well-Known Member
You've got some choices - but not many! (Its also poisonous to horses you you need to remove it before cutting hay!)
First thing... don't dig it. The roots are far too long and if you break them up you just get more plants. Don't disturb the root mat at all.
The best way we have found it just to chop it off at ground level every time it sticks its head up. Eventually it will die back. You have to take every speir from locations where you don't want it. Don't let it get to the point where it can seed.
You can theoretically control it chemically - but the uptake is very mixed as the plant has a waxy coating which means you can't just spray a herbicide. You practically have to inject the things.
You can also in theory control it by altering the soil chemical composition to make it less favorable. It thrives in wet nutrient poor soil. So by building better drainage and fertilizing well the conditions become less favourable for it.
But in practice... chop it down. Every day. For weeks.......
First thing... don't dig it. The roots are far too long and if you break them up you just get more plants. Don't disturb the root mat at all.
The best way we have found it just to chop it off at ground level every time it sticks its head up. Eventually it will die back. You have to take every speir from locations where you don't want it. Don't let it get to the point where it can seed.
You can theoretically control it chemically - but the uptake is very mixed as the plant has a waxy coating which means you can't just spray a herbicide. You practically have to inject the things.
You can also in theory control it by altering the soil chemical composition to make it less favorable. It thrives in wet nutrient poor soil. So by building better drainage and fertilizing well the conditions become less favourable for it.
But in practice... chop it down. Every day. For weeks.......
Charlie007
Well-Known Member
Great!! Thank you! For the last few years we have just avoided cutting hay in that area. Will try and chop it back and see how we go x
lamlyn2012
Well-Known Member
There is a weedkiller called kurtail gold which the manufacturers claim has proven success.
There is also a new product out called Icade which even controls japanese knotweed so that may be worth a try.
It is a woody weed so you may need to add a wetting agent to help absorption.
Regular cutting will weaken the plant and help to eradicate it.
You will need a spraying certificate to buy weedkillers.
There is also a new product out called Icade which even controls japanese knotweed so that may be worth a try.
It is a woody weed so you may need to add a wetting agent to help absorption.
Regular cutting will weaken the plant and help to eradicate it.
You will need a spraying certificate to buy weedkillers.
Chococat
Well-Known Member
We have mares tail in our field and have had it sprayed for the last 4 years with either Grazon or Pastor. It has killed off the visible part of the weed as its growing and this year we noticed a huge reduction in the amount of mares tail coming up in the field.