# How to kill briars



## FarmerCline

I have two fields that have a terrible briar problem they are like blackberry briars but instead of growing upright they creep along the ground forming a mat. Last year I sprayed them twice with roundup at the rate of two quarts per acre per application. After I sprayed them a second time I thought I had them killed and I worked the ground with a offset disc harrow and let it lay rough over the winter. I walked out in the field a couple days ago and noticed the briars are coming back just as bad. I had planed on planting soybeans in one field and sorghum sudan hay in the other. Is there anything I could spray now to kill the briars and still be able to plant in a month? I would think the soybeans would be more of an issue than the sorghum sudan since it is a broadleaf crop. Thanks, Hayden


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## Vol

Sounds like a type of wild rose Hayden....you need to use a brush killer on it and now is the very best time to spray them during green-up. You can get it at your co-op. Gordon's, Crossbow Brush, and several others. I usually keep 1 gallon on hand to spot spray herbaceous(woody) type brush and weeds. Use plenty of surfactant. Rose and greenbriar have a waxy coating on the stem making it difficult to get good absorbtion....now with the new tender green leaves to take in the chemical you can get a good kill. Check the label as I think there is at least a 30 day wait on planting.....

Regards, Mike


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## LaneFarms

FarmerCline check out a dewberry. They look like blackberries but grow on a vine close to the ground. I know cimarron is labeled to kill them in Bermuda grass.


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## FarmerCline

I looked up dewberry and that is exactly what I have. I looked up cimarron but you have to wait 12 months after spraying before you can plant soybeans. I have a jug of crossbow on hand I will look and see what the label allows. I will be using the sprayer on the tractor as I have too many to spot spray.


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## endrow

The label for crossbow reads NON crop land use


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## FarmerCline

Well I looked at the label on the crossbow and endrow is right is says non crop land use however it did not tell how long after spraying you could rotate to crops. The only restrictions I saw on planting was wait 3 weeks after spraying before replanting pastures and the restrictions on making hay was 2 weeks. This makes me think I may be able to plant the sorghum sudan after spraying crossbow since it is a grass and a hay crop. Does anyone know how long after spraying crossbow you have to wait before planting a crop like soybeans? Thanks, Hayden


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## endrow

I have a Pa pesticide applicators license they make you take annual classes to maintain this license. last class I took the instructor spoke about Grazon P&D and Cross bow or similar generic products He said "noncropland only" use means Never use the herbicide where you would grow a crop... He also told us if you use either of these 2 products{picloram or triclopyr} in pa to spray a hay field Never sell the hay from that field .


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## FarmerCline

I am not going to argue with they recommend in PA but down here it is perfectly fine to sell the hay off land which was sprayed with those products, in fact most of the hay I sold last year had been sprayed with crossbow in an effort to get the fields cleaned up. Do you know why they said not to sell the hay if it had been sprayed with those products? Also one field which I sprayed the hay with crossbow last June I put in wheat last fall, It does seem to have hurt the wheat I wonder what will happen when I put my double crop beans in after I harvest the wheat. Does anyone known of anything I can spray that will kill the briars and still be able to plant in a month? Thanks, Hayden


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## FarmerCline

Went and talked to my county extension agent and he told me that there was nothing I could spray that would completely kill the briars and still be able to plant soybeans in a month. He recommended that I spray roundup at the rate of 4 quarts to the acre now and hopefully that would kill a portion of them and maybe the soybeans would shade out the ones that would come back. On the ground that I am going to plant sorghum sudan he said that I should be able to spray the crossbow and be able to plant in 21 days since the sorghum sudan is a grass crop. The only thing is that I had hoped to plant alfalfa this fall on that ground and since the crossbow label doesn't say how long after spraying you could plant a broadleaf crop such as alfalfa or clover it is sort of a gamble. He told me that he thought I would be safe to plant 120 days after spraying if we have normal rainfall and that I should plant some alfalfa seeds in some soil from the field to see how they germinate and grow before planting. He also said that he thought for sure that if I could not plant next fall that by next spring for sure that I would be able to plant. I have a notion to take the gamble on the crossbow because I guess the worst thing that would happen is that I could not plant the alfalfa and I could plant the field in orchard grass. Do y'all think this is good advise or not? Thanks, Hayden


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## Vol

Sounds reasonable Hayden.

Regards, Mike


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## Aurora_Ranch

Surmount does a really good job mixed with a MSO Surfactant.


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## FarmerCline

I looked up the label for Surmount it says to wait 12 months before sowing a broadleaf crop however while looking for it I came across a product called pasturegard. It contains triclopyr which is the same chemical in crossbow but at a higher concentration. It also has another chemical which I don't remember how to spell that is supposed to be better for killing brush than the 2,4d that crossbow also contains. The label on it says that after 21 days of application you can plant a perennial grass or small grains and it says that after 30 days you can plant legumes. It didn't say anything about sorghum sudan but you would think that since small grains would be okay it would be too. What puzzles me is you would think that if you can plant legumes 30 days after the pasturegard you would be able to with the crossbow also. I sure would not think that the 2,4d in crossbow would be the issue.


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## tnwalkingred

Mike,

I too have briars growing in my pastures. I too am inclined to spray now as the small leaves are just now starting to green up and it should make them easier to kill. If I spot spray with Brushmaster it will obviously kill everything else it touches. Am I better to spray them now to help gwet rid of them and then hope the grasses around them recovers sometime this year?

--Kyle


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## JD3430

I just took over a farm with 4 pasture areas. One pasture is pretty well gone. It has a vine that grows about 1/4" thick and forms a mat on the ground that is amazingly tangled. Another pasture has a vertical standing sticker plant that is taking over. Miserable god awful stuff that will tear your damn pants off when you walk through it. Owners think its blackberries. I think the only thing they could do is mow them down real low and hope the hay grasses outgrow them. Can't use spray-guy says "organic farming only" lol


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## FarmerCline

JD3430, I don't think that mowing will kill the briars unless you mow it every week like a yard for a year or two and eventually you should drain the root reserves. You may be better off to let that farm go if you can't use spray.


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## Vol

tnwalkingred said:


> Mike,
> 
> I too have briars growing in my pastures. I too am inclined to spray now as the small leaves are just now starting to green up and it should make them easier to kill. If I spot spray with Brushmaster it will obviously kill everything else it touches. Am I better to spray them now to help gwet rid of them and then hope the grasses around them recovers sometime this year?
> 
> --Kyle


Kyle, I rather have bare patches in my fields as to have briars, brambles, etc., but that is just me. I personally would see too it that they were eliminated this spring and then this fall work the areas up with a pto driven tiller and re-sow.

Regards, Mike


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## JD3430

I wonder if this would be a great spot to use a weed wiper? 
The briars I see are much taller than surrounding grasses.


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## endrow

JD3430 said:


> I wonder if this would be a great spot to use a weed wiper?
> The briars I see are much taller than surrounding grasses.


what would you put in the wiper if its organic farming only


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## JD3430

endrow said:


> what would you put in the wiper if its organic farming only


On Kyles pastures, not mine


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## tnwalkingred

All,

I plan to build a wiper this summer as my orchard grass fields seem to become invaded with Johnson Grass. Using one right now is actually a good idea! Thanks JD3430!

--Kyle


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## JD3430

tnwalkingred said:


> All,
> 
> I plan to build a wiper this summer as my orchard grass fields seem to become invaded with Johnson Grass. Using one right now is actually a good idea! Thanks JD3430!
> 
> --Kyle


Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while!!!!! Lol
(I mean ME being the blind squirrel, not you)


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## Aurora_Ranch

I am about to build one. Are you using the rope wick style or something different? Pictures would be nice. I am trying to find a source for the 1/2" black plastic compressions. Any ideas?


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## cwright

Aurora_Ranch said:


> I am trying to find a source for the 1/2" black plastic compressions. Any ideas?


You can go to an electrical wholesale place and get a rubber type compression bushing that is used for S.O. type electrical cord. 
They are cone shaped and is used to keep the cable from pulling out of the electrical boxes.
Don't know exactly what they are called but is the only thing I can think of that would come close to building one from over the counter parts.

CW


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## RockmartGA

Aurora_Ranch said:


> I am about to build one. Are you using the rope wick style or something different? Pictures would be nice. I am trying to find a source for the 1/2" black plastic compressions. Any ideas?


Here's a couple of sources I found. http://www.grnleafinc.com/catalog/ropewick_fittings/green_sw_wt.asp

http://216.222.184.133/main/plumbing/rough-plumbing/pipes-tubing-fittings/fittings/rope-wick-string-wing-fittings/c-8559.htm


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## Aurora_Ranch

Thanks CW I believe you are talking about the gwab fittings. I will check into them tomorrow.


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## Nitram

Aurora_Ranch said:


> I am about to build one. Are you using the rope wick style or something different? Pictures would be nice. I am trying to find a source for the 1/2" black plastic compressions. Any ideas?


Upper right corner of page is a search box enter weed wiper and drop down box click search forums will bring up threads with subject... someone posted pics of one they built


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