Envy is the perfect herbicide for reseeded pastures

WEED control is becoming an urgent priority on many farms where pastures were reseeded in recent weeks.

Reseeding has major advantages in replenish pastures and lifting overall farm productivity. But if weeds are not controlled early, much of the investment can be wasted.

“Chickweed and docks can be serious problems in new reseeds. If not controlled early, chickweed can smother out the new grass resulting in bare patches. Other weeds will then germinate leading to very poor establishment of the new sward,” said weed control specialist Chris Maughan.

“If not controlled at the seedling stage, docks can take over the new pasture, with the roots growing up to a metre deep.

“Envy, the herbicide developed by leading agro-chemical company Corteva Agriscience, is tailor-made for reseeded pastures.

“Containing two powerful active ingredients fluroxypyr and florasulam, it is effective on a wide range of weeds including chickweed, docks, dandelions, buttercups, plantains, mayweed, charlock, fumitory and dead nettle,” added Chris, who is technical manager with Whelehan Crop Protection, which distributes Envy on the Irish market.

Envy should be applied to reseeds at one litre/ha in 200 litres of water from the third leaf visible stage of the grass. Where chickweed or docks are large, the application rate should be increased to 1.5l/ha.

As it works well in cooler conditions, it can be applied up to 30 November, making it an ideal post-emergence herbicide for autumn-sown reseeds.