what do you use on thistles?
- Thread starter new_guy
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
1982vett
Well-known member
Unfortunatly, anything that will get the thistle will also get the clover. I live with them. I have taken a shredder to some spots that were really getting out of hand.
We always use a mattock. You can do a lot by not letting them bloom. i have seen folks spray them and i thought they used 2-4-D but i may be wrong.
You only need to make one cut below the dirt and let it lay. You don't have to dig it all up.
You need to keep a mattock in the truck and dig them up as you see them once you have it under control.
You only need to make one cut below the dirt and let it lay. You don't have to dig it all up.
You need to keep a mattock in the truck and dig them up as you see them once you have it under control.
Jim62
Well-known member
Grazon P+D
1982vett":35cnnxcx said:
That is why the person that had the farm I now own turned it into a Thistle Factory. I sprayed with Grazon last year and it did great. I also have clover all over this spring. It burnt it a little last year but it is back way more than before.
He was too cheap to take care of the pasture.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
I spray the pastures with 2-4-D I prefer it over Grazon in Bahia pastures.
iowafarmer
Well-known member
We use grazon on pastures that won't be baled and 2,4-d on bailing ground. The thing is Grazon used on hay that gets baled then it gets eaten or wasted and then the manure is spread on bean groundor corn gorund. Grazon kills soybeans even if there is jsut a trace of it in the manure you spread in the feild and soybeans wont grow for a year and willbe stunted for 5. IT doesnt matter if you don't have soybeans though.
LegacySpecklePark
Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2008
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 0
Grazon would probably be your best bet although the most costly of the chemical controls. However long term costs of leaving the thistles there would be very high, thus making Grazon quite cost effective when factoring in the increase in grass production that it will cause. 2,4-D will have some effect on the thistles but mostly in a suppression capacity, not controlling them. The best control of thistles will be with a chlopyralid product but most of these will have a grazing restriction. I do not know where you are from so I can not be throwing out trade names of products as they may be different across the 49th. I do work as an Agronomist and recommended the use of many of these products throughout my years.
LegacySpecklePark
http://www.legacyspecklepark.com
LegacySpecklePark
http://www.legacyspecklepark.com
If I'm spraying the entire field I use Grazon rather then 2,4-d to prevent reinvestation. If they're just a here and there I spray with either glyphosate or 2,4-d depending on what is in the sprayer at the time.
Onthebit
Well-known member
I don't know about thistles but this is how we clean up burr bushes!
grannysoo
Well-known member
Onthebit":la48p4fr said:
Sheep work even better for cleaning up burrs!
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
LegacySpecklePark":z96ugrs3 said:
Grazon is not a good product everywhere if you graze seed grasses like in the south. Grazon gets the good seed as well as the bad.
TexasBred
Well-known member
Been hand spraying scattered thistles off and on a couple of days now. Not a lot of them but sure don't want them to multiply. Grazon P&G seems to do a good job and since it's a broad leaf herb. it doesn't hurt the coastal. Works pretty good on polk salad as well but takes a while.
ga. prime
Well-known member
Good tip, wewild. I have a few thistles here and there and was digging up the whole plant, tap root and all. Your tip will save me some work.
George Monk
Well-known member
We spot spray with Crossbow. excellent kill especially early in the summer
Onthebit
Well-known member
grannysoo":1w1bs87q said:
Lol I havn't put them out yet......was thinking i better sheer em first!
Grazon (2-4D and Tordon) and Crossbow (2-4D and Remedy) both work well. I think that just 2-4D will work if treated before they bolt or start flower. I tried Weadmaster (2-4D and Dicamba) last year and it cleaned up my hay field very well so I did all my hay fields with rye grass this spring. Those without Rye Grass got round-up. Weadmaster is a little cheaper than grazon or crossbow and stays with you a while. The Co-op brand for Weadmaster is called "Brash." I like it but like all the others it will kill clover dead so I don't use it on my pastures except for spot treatments.
Nowland Farms
Well-known member
We started about 4 years ago batteling the thistle. We sprayed the problem areas with 24D. Then as a followup when we rode around the pasture on the 4 wheeler checking the cows we took a hoe and a 1 qt spray bottle full of glosphate (generic roundup). As we came across the thistle we would chop the seed head off as it formed and sprayed the rest of the plant. The 1st year, it was a real chore and kept us busy everytime we went into the pasture. The second year we could see a slight decrease in the numbers of thistle. The 3rd year was even better.
This year there are very few thistles around.
This may not work for the larger operations but it worked for us. It is time consuming and additional work, but I consider it to be part of taking care of the place.
This year there are very few thistles around.
This may not work for the larger operations but it worked for us. It is time consuming and additional work, but I consider it to be part of taking care of the place.
