Dont rush in on cleavers
Dont rush in on cleavers
CLEAVERS are the most competitive weed in arable crops, but rushing in too early with controls risks missing spring germinating weeds, warns ADAS.
"Yield loss from spring germinating cleavers is very low by comparison to autumn emerging ones, but growers cant actually ignore them," says arable technical manager James Clarke.
Control at 98% is required to reduce cleavers numbers in following crops, and up to 18% have been shown to emerge in spring, dependent on site. "There can be quite a significant flush as late as late April," he warns.
That is why Dow Agrosciences maintains a zero threshold for cleavers. "If you can spot one cleavers plant in the field you can rest assured there are others out there," says product manager Bill Taylor.
Boxer (florasulam), the firms newly approved cleavers killer, is more reliable than other early season cleavers products, and is better on mayweed and chickweed, he maintains. However, where late germinating cleavers are a problem, control is best left to May and Starane 2 (fluroxypyr).
Packsize is 500ml and recommended rates are 100ml/ha for cleavers up to 20cm and 150ml/ha for cleavers up to 50cm.