# Spraying smooth brome



## MT hayer (Mar 1, 2014)

Maybe some of you like smooth broke, but it has a small window of feed value in my part of the world. I am looking for something that will kill it. Ideally I would graze late or hay early, spray it, then plant millet or something for a fall crop to hay or graze. Any ideas on what works the best would be great! Also any ideas on Kentucky blue grass? I like it in a mix, but some places it has choked everything out. Thanks.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

KY Bluegrass can be invasive in certain cooler climates....and the yield is very poor here. It is good for grazing horses.

Regards, Mike


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Vol said:


> KY Bluegrass can be invasive in certain cooler climates....and the yield is very poor here. It is good for grazing horses.
> 
> Regards, Mike


IMO, it makes for a good horse pasture because it recovers pretty well from over-grazing and hoof damage.

Ralph


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Roundup would kill either one if that's what you are asking.

I like meadow brome better then smooth brome.It has a finer stem and seems to be more palatable as it gets mature.Ive never tested it to know for sure.


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

glyphosate will kill it but use a strong rate and I find it gets better control if I spray it in the fall for both smooth brome and bluegrass.

I really like to do 2 years of silage corn on ground I break up as its a good way to cleanup all those grasses in the field before I reseed.


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## MT hayer (Mar 1, 2014)

Have you ever tried spraying any other time? I was really hoping there is something that works better on smooth brome. Yes IH I agree two years. It is in a pasture that part is hay ground, and want to have something to graze. Crested is easy to tip over late June, but this rotten smooth brome is not.
I would even take the time to spot spray. I do know that grazing it late spring early summer sure hurts it.

When you spray in the fall, is it after it has been grazed or hayed?


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

After its been hayed and then allowed to regrow. Usually try to spray it in Sept before a really hard frost gets it. Both smooth brome and especially Kentucky bluegrass can be a pain to get good control with just one pass in my opinion.


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## MT hayer (Mar 1, 2014)

Yes I have heard this. I am more a fan of just working it down with iron, but these two have such a root system. A few years ago, a guy and I hayed his 25 acres off in the first week of June, sprayed it once with roundup, no tilled sorghum Sudan into it. It had cheatgrass smooth brome, crested alfalfa, Kentucky bluegrass, dandy lions, green needle and a few others. The upper parts of the field did great! So we took the hay crop off, plus a fall crop and no weeds. This was done with average moisture for our area.

In addition to the extra forage, it was a good rotation. The only part that struggled was the lower part, better soil, that is solid smooth brome. I am not a fan of roundup, as I feel it is being abused and we will live to regret it, but this is why I was looking for something that might work better.


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