Ragwort spraying woes

[chestnutx]

A week and a half ago I had my spare fields sprayed, contractor told me by 14 days ragwort would be dead down to roots. The nettles and buttercups have wilted off but the ragwort is still growing! I texted him to say but he replied that by 14 days it'd be dead! I find this hard to believe as many of the rosettes now have tall stems appearing :-( I know I'll have to wait till Friday to complain to him again but am so frustrated as I know when they get the stems they are harder to kill with chemicals.

 

[Shay]

I didn't think you could spay for ragwort? I'm happy to be corrected - but I had always thought the only way to deal with it is the good old fashioned by hand method. Following with interest as if you have got something that you can spray for ragwort I'd like to know more. We do it by hand every year.

 

[twiggy2]

was it dry weather when the field was spayed?

Shay there are lots of weed killers for ragwort and if used properly most are very effective

 

[Merrymoles]

Sometimes plants put a growth spurt on before dying so fingers crossed for you that that's what it is.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Hmm, I had 50% of my fields sprayed last year, mostly for buttercups, but also dock, plantain & ragwort (persistent ones in my top field).
All had begun to die by end week 1 & by end week 2 the few ragwort plants were dead & so I collected them up to burn.
Not had a re-occurrence in those fields this year, except the odd one under the fence line.

What chemical did he use and what agent to mix it with?

 

[skyboy]

We use Mortox. Kills everything. Has to be left for two or three weeks after spraying. But you can see the weeds turn after a couple of days

 

[chestnutx]

It was dry when it was sprayed and really hot for a few days then we've had loads of rain. I'm not sure what he used something 500? He is very knowledgeable I just think I have ninja ragwort that won't die! Argh! Will let you know if it has died by Friday.

 

[Lottiedots]

Sometimes it doesn't take fully and they have to be re sprayed. This happened to me last year and he came back out and re sprayed, for free. Some were dead and others were clearly not fully dying , was after 2 -3 weeks . Lots of rain can be a problem but only within the first day or so of spraying.

 

[PeterNatt]

It can take up to 3 full weeks to kill them off and some times one has to spray them again.

 

[glinda]

I have had the same problem this year?? Sprayed fields and didn't touch the ragwort….. normally works a treat. No idea why it hasn't worked this year.
I have now spent hours digging the stuff up as want to use the fields but every time I look there is more there… arrrggggghhhhh

 

[L&M]

Deleted!

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Weedkillers work best when weeds are at an immature stage, I suspect he has used a weedkiller which would work if the weeds were smaller, it is not a perfect science, if it were me and practical, I would go and dig out the remaining plants, the younger/smaller ones should have died.
You could spray by hand, but the field is going to be out of commission for months.
Weedkillers cause a spurt in growth [plant hormones] and they exhaust themselves.

The ingredients will be MCPA and 2-4 D
eg.
"Headland Polo is a selective herbicide used for controlling broad leaved weeds. Approved for use in grassland such as paddocks. Headland Polo is made up of 2,4-D and MCPA for the purpose of controlling Ragwort as well as other weeds including buttercup, docks, nettles, ragwort and thistles. Ragwort has been professionally classified as completely susceptible to headland polo by using two applications; one during spring and another during autumn."