spraying a road

[milesvb]

Can anyone recommend something better than glyphosate for keeping grass off a gravel road? I had to spray three times this year and finally got about 95% brown since things have dried out some. Is there anything that will knock out the grass/weeds with one application? It sure is hard to blade gravel with grass grown into it.

 

[Jim62]

I got ahold of some stuff a few years ago that would probably do the trick. If you can still get it. I think the name was Pramitol. It was used by pipeline companies for permanent control of grass around buildings and such. Supposedly sterilized the soil so nothing would grow.

 

[ollie?]

Isn't paramitol the same chemical as paraquat or am I remembering wrong?

 

[Jogeephus]

Spike or Hyvar are both soil sterilants that you could use but be careful if the road is within the drip-line of trees or other vegetation you don't want to kill.

Another thing you might want to consider is mixing Treflan with the Roundup. The RU will kill the existing grass and the Treflan will kill the grass that tries to germinate. Much less risk with this mix.(Check the label to be sure you can tank mix - I think you can but my mind weakens.)

 

[msscamp]

Can anyone recommend something better than glyphosate for keeping grass off a gravel road? I had to spray three times this year and finally got about 95% brown since things have dried out some. Is there anything that will knock out the grass/weeds with one application? It sure is hard to blade gravel with grass grown into it.

Sterilize it. I'm not sure what the name of the product is, but your local weed & pest should be able to tell you. It used to be good for 3-5 years, but I don't know if that is still the case. I would be very careful of how I applied it, however, as it could leach into areas that you don't want it to leach into.

 

[Angus Guy]

Sahara mixed with Hyvar is an excellent drive and parking lot spray. It will not migrate as much as Pramitol. As was said before make sure that you are not spraying under the drip lines of any trees you you don't want to kill.

 

[alabama]

You may try a product made by BASF called Arsenal. I would mix it with round-up.

 

[milesvb]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I forgot to mention that one of the roads I need to maintain has about 50 feet of drop in half a mile so I am a little concerned about what will happen after a heavy rainfall. There aren't any driplines to worry about but there are a lot of trees downhill. After reading the product labels some of that stuff is a bit spooky. I couldn't find if Treflan is compatible with RU but Pramitol seems to be the least spooky of them. It seems to have the same chemical formula as atrazine and since a few farmers I know use that chemical I'll pick their brains about it.

Ollie, paraquat ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraquat ) seems to be a different chemical than pramitol/atrazine.

Alabama, Arsenal doesn't sound too bad from the label, any experience with it on gravelly/clayey soils?

 

[Outrigger2]

Spike or Hyvar are both soil sterilants

hyvar does work

 

[alabama]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I forgot to mention that one of the roads I need to maintain has about 50 feet of drop in half a mile so I am a little concerned about what will happen after a heavy rainfall. There aren't any driplines to worry about but there are a lot of trees downhill. After reading the product labels some of that stuff is a bit spooky. I couldn't find if Treflan is compatible with RU but Pramitol seems to be the least spooky of them. It seems to have the same chemical formula as atrazine and since a few farmers I know use that chemical I'll pick their brains about it.

Ollie, paraquat ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraquat ) seems to be a different chemical than pramitol/atrazine.

Alabama, Arsenal doesn't sound too bad from the label, any experience with it on gravelly/clayey soils?

I have not used it but I know that the alabama DOT uses it in places they don't want the weeds to come back. Like under asphalt paved shoulders. they have good results.

 

[Jogeephus]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I forgot to mention that one of the roads I need to maintain has about 50 feet of drop in half a mile so I am a little concerned about what will happen after a heavy rainfall. There aren't any driplines to worry about but there are a lot of trees downhill. After reading the product labels some of that stuff is a bit spooky. I couldn't find if Treflan is compatible with RU but Pramitol seems to be the least spooky of them. It seems to have the same chemical formula as atrazine and since a few farmers I know use that chemical I'll pick their brains about it.

Ollie, paraquat ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraquat ) seems to be a different chemical than pramitol/atrazine.

Alabama, Arsenal doesn't sound too bad from the label, any experience with it on gravelly/clayey soils?

I have not used it but I know that the alabama DOT uses it in places they don't want the weeds to come back. Like under asphalt paved shoulders. they have good results.

I use quite a bit of it. Best to apply in the fall. It is soil active as well as foliar/stem. Costs about $2.65/ounce. I'd recommend 16 ounces/acre.

The atrazine is cheap but it will not kill grasses only broadleaves. Treflan will kill grasses. Its only a preemergent and I use it in the garden and in flower beds as well. Just messes with the grass seed. (Haven't bought any in a while. They may have changed the name. Check label for Surflan as well. I think this is very similar to Treflan for grasses but not positive.)

 

[cowtrek]

Spike or Hyvar are both soil sterilants that you could use but be careful if the road is within the drip-line of trees or other vegetation you don't want to kill.

Another thing you might want to consider is mixing Treflan with the Roundup. The RU will kill the existing grass and the Treflan will kill the grass that tries to germinate. Much less risk with this mix.(Check the label to be sure you can tank mix - I think you can but my mind weakens.)

Treflan (generic is Trifluralin) has to be mixed throughly with soil (immediately incorporated) or the sun will degrade it quickly and render it ineffective. Trifluralin has very little activity on bermudagrass (can speak from personal experience on this in cotton fields) and if you have common bermuda popping up in the center of your drive Trifluralin won't do much for it.

I'd stick with a sterilant such as Pramitol or Sahara. I've used Sahara on fencelines and really like it, lasts roughly a year. Used to use Pramitol when I worked for the pipeline company; it worked really well and I still have some I bought in fact, main benefit of that stuff is that it was pelleted so that made it very easy to spread around buildings and pipeline pig traps and such, and very easy to control where it was applied, versus the difficulties of mixing and applying sprays in the proper amounts.

That's been my experience! OL JR