Preparation and planning, the key to tackling weeds this spring

As spring approaches, amenity contractors across the country will be turning their attention to weed control.

“As soon as soil temperatures rise, we’ll see accelerated weed growth,” says Lewis Blois, national account manager at Bayer.

He recommends having a control plan to get on top of weeds before they become disruptive. “Weeds can be costly and stressful to control once they are fully established, and with longer, warmer days just around the corner, getting on top of their development early is vital,” says Lewis. He adds that the most successful control strategies start with a plan.

“The first step in putting together a control plan is to work out where weed growth is at currently, in terms of development,” says Lewis.

“If the weeds haven’t yet emerged, then a pre-emergence control strategy can be implemented. But if there are signs of emergence then contractors should be prepared to knock down weeds right away,” informs Lewis.

He also suggests customers should keep an eye on the weed species that are the biggest issue in their location. “Regionally weed species and the rate of growth could differ, so control plans will need to be unique to each site.”

As the cultural control options available for pre-emergence weeds are fairly limited on non-hard surface areas, residual herbicides are the most efficient solution to prevent weeds from developing.

“Valdor® Flex provides residual and effective control against a broad spectrum of weeds for up to four months and is a cost-effective solution, through the reduced need for multiple applications.

“However, if the residual herbicide is applied early in the season, before weeds have emerged, it may not cover the entire growing season,” explains Lewis.

“Try to ensure the application timing is optimum when applying residual herbicides, so they last for as long as possible through the season. Across the country, some contractors will need to apply residual herbicides earlier than others as the climate differs, but some will experience colder conditions so may be able to delay residual application until a few weeks later.

“Understanding the optimum conditions for weed growth will be beneficial for applying preemergence herbicides,” he adds.

Residual herbicides, such as Valdor® Flex can still form part of the control strategy if weeds have started to grow early or if a residual herbicide was not applied as part of a pre-emergent strategy.

“At this stage, cultural controls such as strimming and mowing could be used, but in areas with limited accessibility, such methods aren’t always an option and not always very effective” says Lewis.

To effectively knock down the weeds as they are developing, applying glyphosate in the form of Roundup ProActive or Roundup ProVantage alongside a residual herbicide, is the best solution for success.

Roundup is an effective, targeted, and trusted product which can attack developing weeds swiftly. “Residual herbicides and glyphosate can be mixed and used in conjunction to tackle weeds later on in the season.

“Glyphosate will control rapidly developing weeds while residual activity will prevent further growth,” he says.

“This integrated approach is not only cost effective for the amenity contractor as it reduces the need for multiple herbicide applications and trips to treatment sites, but will also save the customer money,” he adds.

“As the sector faces continued pressure on accessibility to active ingredients, an integrated weed control strategy using both residual herbicides and glyphosate, is fundamental for the most success in tackling weeds,” he concludes.

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