# Briars in Bermuda



## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

We picked up a new pasture/hay lease this past weekend. It needs some TLC. It was originally a Tifton 44 hay field. Later it was pasture and hay. Not much has been done over the last several years other than the occasional topping the weeds with a shredder. We began shredding high and found a very good stand of the 44 doing surprisingly well.

The weeds are an inconvenience that can be easily done away with. My concern is the blackberry type briars growing in places. I would like to cut this for hay and feed it to my cows this year.

How long after the stickers are cut out, sprayed and killed, will the remains still be there? I do not want to cut the hay in a month and it still have the briars for my cows to contend with. The briars are not thick or growing tall or in clumps. They are just growing in some areas.

I plan to spray next week after we finish topping the weeds.

Would I be better of grazing it this year after we get it cleaned up?


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

That may be a good option cattle will graze it close, get some amendments from them, attack it this winter and next spring....in the meantime may want to add some N and see what kinda response you get from the Bermuda


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Unfortunately from what I have found in my experience over the past few years of converting poorly managed fields into productive fields is that the briars are very difficult to eradicate and that it will take multiple times spraying to kill the root system and that the dead top growth even of small briars tends to stay standing and gets into the hay rather than falling down after dying. Are they the upright blackberry type briar or a more trailing type dewberry briar? The latter is much harder to kill.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

I think your shooting yourself in the foot if your clipping the weeds off and then plan to spray these same weeds with herbicide. I would want the foliage there to spray onto in order to absorb the herbicide. Are these Multiflora Rose plants? Plant stands higher than your spray boom? If these weeds are only in spots, do you have a boom less nozzle available you could drive around and soak them real well? To the point of run off.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I have always had good success clipping weeds and then spraying. The new growth seems to make the weed more vulnerable. Most of the weeds are broad leaf. The briar type is not as prevalent but is the one that concerns me the most as far as hay.

The field was clipped earlier this year. Spraying 2-4-D will take out 85% of the common weeds in one spraying.

The briar spots will get a dose of something for a woody stem. Those briars seem to be blackberry or dewberry.

The Bermuda is calf high, the briars about the same. The broad leafs are thigh high. This is 50+ acres with 35 being Bermuda with the weeds.

Going to put a ton per acre of Basic Slag and 300 lbs per acre of 17-17-17 on the Bermuda. We clipped high, 18 inches or so. Those areas look to be solid Bermuda until you walk through it and see the stalks of what we cut.

May just let it grow and stockpile for winter. I hate to because the places we have clipped high look good enough to cut and bale now.


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## siscofarms (Nov 23, 2010)

If your going to use the hay , not sell it , and were talking beef cows , why not just cut it and roll it up ???? Of course were talking ky hay making here but the best way to get rid of briars is cut them to the ground . fert your hay, and if they get shaded by alittle grass they won't come back .If the Bermuda comes back you got 2 more cuttings you can get of good hay and have this 1 cutting of rougher hay but we are talking beef cows here .


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Horse's will eat hay with briars too...they will pick around them just like cows. Well all the horses I have ever owned would not sure about the rest.


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## C & C Cattle and Hay (Sep 6, 2011)

I would just cut it and roll it up, cows will eat it come winter. They'll just pick through the briars.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

C & C Cattle and Hay said:


> I would just cut it and roll it up, cows will eat it come winter. They'll just pick through the briars.


If you do go that route, (I did that on a field last year) feed all in one spot and burn it in the spring.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Lewis Ranch said:


> If you do go that route, (I did that on a field last year) feed all in one spot and burn it in the spring.


Or feed it in the woods. Not much germinates in the woods.


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