Weed infested Clover plot

[Wardy]

Hi guys and gals, new to this forum but was active in the qdma forums back in the day. Was so sorry to discover that lickcreek had passed away. Got some great advice from him and he seemed like a helluva nice guy.
Ok, back to my question. I have a clover plot that is extremely weedy. The weeds have all but choked out the clover but there is still a decent amount here or there. I dont want to start over so heres what i was thinking
1. Do the light dose of gly method?? Clover is not summer stressed with all the rain we have recieved. OR
2. Spray with butyrac wait several days and spray with clethodim??
3. Do a combination of the two?? Can you mix any of these and not lose effectiveness. I do have some nasty weeds like sedge and smartweed
Any info would be greatly appreciated!! Thks,Wardy

 

[OkieKubota]

For weeds I just simply mow...

 

[Drycreek]

I use cleth for grass early in the growing season, but like Oakie, I've found that mowing takes care of the weeds quicker and just as well as spraying. Got to keep up with them though.

 

[Jason Broom]

Grow your way out of the problem. Create optimum conditions for something else to grow, at a time that favors your choice of planting. You've probably had clover there for too long, banking excess nitrogen that other plants (the ones we call "weeds") will thrive on.

 

[buckmaster27012]

i wouldnt spray the gly even a light dose. i tried that on a clover plot the last year i used it before turning it back to hay field. the weeds come back stronger than they were before i sprayed. mow/cleth/butyrac and i keep a pretty good clover plot going on 5 years now.

 

[THE LLC]

I always treat my durana clover plots in the summer with 1 qt of 41% glyphosate to 25 gallons of water. I use this to control crabgrass, dog fennel, and horse nettle primarily. It will take out the weeds but has minimal effect on the clover. If the weeds are taller than the clover, it's even more effective. I discovered this worked totally by accident while trying to terminate a durana/weed plot to replant in wheat. Before I could turn the ground for the wheat I had such a great durana plot I didn't do anything. That was about five years ago now.

 

[Mennoniteman]

I've also had excellent results treating clover with gly. So now I mix 8-16oz roundup, 10oz clethodim, and 4-6oz thunder in 25 gallons of water per acre.

 

[dogghr]

I've done the gly thing and it did ok but mixing in AMS and crop oil w the cleth or selodium works really well. Gotta take look as why weeds are there as said. Might overseed this fall w a grain and ck soil readings and ph. Frequent mowing of weeds hard to beat and deer love some of them certain times of yr. good luck.

 

[Tap]

Once sedge starts taking over it's a little harder to clean a clover plot.
HOWEVER, there are a ton of herbicides on the market and new ones seem to come out every year.
Is there a sedge selective herbicide that's safe on clover? I mean one that really works? Gly knocks sedge back but it usually needs a 2nd dose and that's usually enough to cook the clover.

 

[X-farmerdan]

Once sedge starts taking over it's a little harder to clean a clover plot.
HOWEVER, there are a ton of herbicides on the market and new ones seem to come out every year.
Is there a sedge selective herbicide that's safe on clover? I mean one that really works? Gly knocks sedge back but it usually needs a 2nd dose and that's usually enough to cook the clover.

Halosulfron - trade name Permit
Bentazon - trade names Basagran, Herbatox, Leader and Laddock

 

[Jason Broom]

Fagopyrum esculentum - trade name, Buckwheat
Rotary mower - also known as a bush hog.

 

[X-farmerdan]

Fagopyrum esculentum - trade name, Buckwheat
Rotary mower - also known as a bush hog.

I like this! I'm a herbicide guy. My first inclination is to resort to herbicides....and it isn't the correct leaning for what we are doing here. Chemicals are a substitute for other, more enduring methods like what Jason slapped me with (appropriately) above. Mechanical and cultural methods have been too much ignored in comparison to our seemingly insatiable need for herbicides.

I've wanted to say this for a long time - Stop using herbicides inappropriately! (Remember, I have sold and used at least 10's of thousands of gallons of the stuff in my lifetime. I've seen what they can do and what they can't).

Here's are my evolving views about herbicides and weeds-
1. They are not safe, not in the sense I get from reading most of our posts. They are growth regulators that interfere with natural genetics. They can affect you as well as plants, especially in their concentrated forms. Herbicides are not magic. I'm not saying not to use them, but, rather, use herbicides with care and caution. Comply with the label cautions and use restrictions.

2. It seems to me glyphosate has created a belief that all herbicides work like glyphosate. If the herbicide says it will kill, then it will. Sorry. it doesn't work that way. Most herbicides work in a narrow window and only effectively on certain weeds within it's own family (dicots or monocots -- broadleaf weeds or grasses). Right now, because weeds are big and seemingly a threat, people want to know what to use to kill those weeds. I said it before and I'll say it again, most herbicides need to be applied early when the weeds are small. Then, we hope to outcompete the weed crops with our desirable crop. With a few exceptions, when you see big weeds in your crops, it's mostly too late for herbicides.

3, Finally with all credit to Jason, the best form of weed control is to provide a fertile growing environment where your crops can grow as quick or quicker than weeds. Picking, pulling, cultivating, and mowing are other form of weed control that can be as effective if not more effective than chemical applications.

 

[FarmerD]

Amen ......

 

[Jason Broom]

What a blessing it is to be a member of a forum where ideas and information are shared freely. There is no one "right" solution to any of the challenges we face in trying to improve our habitat, or our hunting success rates. I have used gly, as well as 2-4D, and I will use them again, if conditions warrant. Where possible, I will use mechanical and biological means to achieve the desired end. As one of our members is fond of noting, Nature's way is a slow way, and not always for us to fully understand. As stewards, we should seek to augment and improve, not subjugate and radically change. I am very thankful to be able to read and learn and share; my results are predicated upon such.

 

[farmhunter]

Gly was like magic for me when I first found it. I'd been planting corn and using a pull behind cultivator - for years. I still have the gigantic seedbank of ragweed to prove it. it got so that no matter what I did I couldn't get ahead of the ragweed in corn. Then when I first tried Gly - I couldn't believe how it worked - magic! So I'm still a proponent of gly on corn and soybean - I occasionally use it as a burndown option -
but I only mow clovers and clover mixes. if the grasses get to be too much - then its time to rotate corn or beans into that spot.

I find mowing clover at the right times it can shine even in weedy fields - especially a Labor Day time mowing -