# Pursuit vs Butyrac for Alfalfa weed control



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I talked to the place where I buy my chemicals today on what there opinion was on whether pursuit or butyrac would be better to use on my seedling alfalfa. I got a mixed opinion on which would be better.....one person said pursuit would be better and that butyrac would make the alfalfa curl up and look like I had sprayed 2,4d on it.....someone else said that for seedling alfalfa butyrac would be better because that pursuit would stunt the alfalfa for a week or two.

I have looked at the label for both and each will kill the weeds I have. The butyrac label was a bit confusing as there was nothing saying what the maximum amount per year you could apply and it said do not spray if the alfalfa is drought stressed( which it is now) but that rain within 7 to 10 days will increase chance of injury to crop. The label also said nothing about the minimum size the alfalfa needed to be before spraying while everything I read on the internet says 2nd trifoliate leaf before spraying. The pursuit label clearly says maximum rate of 6oz per year so if I use that now I will have to use something else later in the summer when I'm sure more pigweed will emerge.

Which should I use? I can't decide so I'm getting ready to flip a coin to make the decision.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

If you think you may have to spray twice.You could maybe spray the Butyrac first.And then if you need to you could spray the pursuit later.

6 oz of Pursuit = $$$


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I would use pursuit now it would get some of the unwanted grasses like barnyard grass etc . Plus pursuit it will give a little residual for when your alfalfa is small. I would not go over 4oz of pursuit on a young crop no way . maybe Raptor would be a good second product or even 3oz now and 3oz latter if the weeds don't get to tall


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

endrow said:


> I would use pursuit now it would get some of the unwanted grasses like barnyard grass etc . Plus pursuit it will give a little residual for when your alfalfa is small. I would not go over 4oz of pursuit on a young crop no way . maybe Raptor would be a good second product or even 3oz now and 3oz latter if the weeds don't get to tall


 I looked up the label on raptor and it looks like that it would be a good choice later on if I need to spray between cutting as there is no waiting period between spraying and cutting. Since pursuit has a 30 day wait I was wondering how that was going to work out if the hay had a week of regrowth and there were weeds I need to spray but wanted to cut on a 30 day schedule. I don't really have any grass problems now but I was thinking if later in the summer If any foxtail showed up I could use poast.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Man, with all that dang herb spraying you would have been better off with RR alfalfa....and gly will kill Palmer at the seedling stage. Nothing prettier than a good stand of RR alfalfa.

Regards, Mike


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Vol said:


> Man, with all that dang herb spraying you would have been better off with RR alfalfa....and gly will kill Palmer at the seedling stage. Nothing prettier than a good stand of RR alfalfa.
> 
> Regards, Mike


 Mike, you may very well be right but I just couldn't see the extra cost for RR seed when I would have to spray with something else anyway to kill the pigweed.....I didn't know roundup would kill seedling pigweed. I sprayed some last year that was 2 inches and it didn't touch it so I am now using paraquat for burndown instead of roundup. The morning glorys came from the ground being worked and I really don't expect to have an issue with them after the alfalfa gets established. This ground really doesn't have any other broadleaf weed issues. I really don't expect to have an issue with grass weeds but I know I can control them with poast If I do and it's only a 15 day waiting period before cutting. The hardest part seems to be just figuring out what chemicals to use. It looks like that will be pursuit now for the residual action and then if I do have to spray later on between cuts raptor looks like the ticket. I could be wrong but in my mind it seems like the aggressive cutting schedule of alfalfa would suppress a lot of weeds.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I just had a thought.....right now it seems that my stand of alfalfa is a bit thin, if it still seems thin this fall I may consider no tilling orchard grass into it to thicken it up. If I would spray pursuit this coming week would I still be able to interseed orchard grass this fall okay?


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

FarmerCline said:


> I just had a thought.....right now it seems that my stand of alfalfa is a bit thin, if it still seems thin this fall I may consider no tilling orchard grass into it to thicken it up. If I would spray pursuit this coming week would I still be able to interseed orchard grass this fall okay?


The label does not mention o/g as I remember a Rep told me one time 3oz =3mo and 4oz=4mo . Your climate and soil type is different than mine ask your supplier to check into it .


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Depending where a guy is there is resistant to roundup,pigweed,waterhemp amd palmer amerath.Roundup alone will not work here anymore in corn and beans.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

You're right not to worry about the morning glory. Mow it and the crop will outgrow em, by the next year they are gone.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Hayden, you also can plant more alfalfa.....either in the fall or in March and there would not be a problem yet with Auto.

Regards, Mike


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Vol said:


> Hayden, you also can plant more alfalfa.....either in the fall or in March and there would not be a problem yet with Autp.
> Regards, Mike


 That actually may be the better thing for me to do as I think I have a better demand for pure alfalfa than a mix. If I would plant this fall I guess I would have to sacrifice my last cutting to let the young alfalfa take hold?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

FarmerCline said:


> That actually may be the better thing for me to do as I think I have a better demand for pure alfalfa than a mix. If I would plant this fall I guess I would have to sacrifice my last cutting to let the young alfalfa take hold?


Well, that would depend.....need to plant the alfalfa sometime in September....but fall planted alfalfa is subject to sclerotina(sp?) here but I do not know about your side of the mountains. But, I would probably still try to plant in the fall.

I wish you would have planted RR alfalfa....the cost difference is well worth it and it makes for a beautiful stand.....and easy to manage. I am going plant 10 more acres next March.

Regards, Mike


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Vol said:


> Well, that would depend.....need to plant the alfalfa sometime in September....but fall planted alfalfa is subject to sclerotina(sp?) here but I do not know about your side of the mountains. But, I would probably still try to plant in the fall.
> 
> I wish you would have planted RR alfalfa....the cost difference is well worth it and it makes for a beautiful stand.....and easy to manage. I am going plant 10 more acres next March.
> 
> Regards, Mike


 Fall planting is more recommended here but there is the possibility of sclertonia and that is why I opted for a spring planting. I was thinking though that by interseeding in the fall it would allow the new alfalfa to be about the same size as the existing alfalfa by spring.


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Can either one of these be sprayed on clover without killing it? If they can how much and when is he best.


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## haystax (Jul 24, 2010)

I like to use Raptor + Pursuit at 3oz each. Add Select at 8-12oz depending on grass pressure. Been very successfull with this mix on new seeding alfalfa


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