Weed competition can be significant in autumn reseeds and should be controlled to give young grass the best chance to establish and flourish.
Having a strategy to control the problem is vital to protect grassland from yield losses over the coming months. Late summer and early autumn can be a popular time for reseeding as yield loss is minimised and new seedbeds have plenty of time to settle and establish over winter. However weeds can develop strongly over the winter period, smothering out large patches of the new grass by springtime.
Autumn treatment of newly sown leys will remove competition from the establishing grasses and clovers at a time when they are least able to compete with broad-leaved weeds. This will enable the ley to get well established before the onset of winter and, so long as the ley isn’t poached before animals are removed, it will be in good condition to grow actively in the spring with minimal competition. A good establishment of a newly sown ley will normally result in better grass yields for many years to come.
Envy® is an excellent solution for weed control in newly sown leys and is best applied six to eight weeks after reseeding. It gives good grass safety when used on new sown leys.
Envy’s wide weed spectrum includes chickweed, mayweeds, buttercups, dandelions, seedling docks and at the higher dose rate will also control docks which are growing from root fragments. Envy is available in a 3-litre pack and can be applied between 1 February and 30 November at 1.5 litres/ha, making it ideal for autumn reseeds.
For more information and support go: www.corteva.co.uk/crops/grassland
TP25922 Corteva Envy 2023 Scotish Farmer mini page 227 x 164mm ad v2