2015 Hay Season

[JSanders10]

I recently purchased about 40 acres of pasture adjacent to my current farm, formerly a great Bahiagrass field, but after five years of no cutting and being ignored, filled with many wild blackberry and briar patches.

My neighbor (a long-time experienced cattle farmer and hayer) told me for that, spot spray with a mixture of Remedy and 24D, with an added surfactant (oil), and that's what I'll be using after the first cutting this year.

 

[Creamer]

I recently purchased about 40 acres of pasture adjacent to my current farm, formerly a great Bahiagrass field, but after five years of no cutting and being ignored, filled with many wild blackberry and briar patches.

My neighbor (a long-time experienced cattle farmer and hayer) told me for that, spot spray with a mixture of Remedy and 24D, with an added surfactant (oil), and that's what I'll be using after the first cutting this year.

I may be wrong but I would think consistent mowing would take care of blackberry and briar. Spraying is probably quicker though and although I ahve never dealt with it I have heard briar can be a little tough on tires.

 

[JSanders10]

Cutting definitely is a good measure, but it returns. I cut it three times last summer/fall, briars still came back, but at a much reduced rate.

My guy cutting the hay would like the best horse hay possible and I've given him permission to do whatever it takes.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Remedy works well on the briar. Count on spraying for 3 years to get it under control. The best time to spray is after they bloom.

 

[farmer2009]

I have found for rose bushes and blackberries that Crossbow works well. I will spray then after leaves drop bushhog. Sometimes it does take a couple of years to fully clean an area.

 

[STx]

I may be wrong but I would think consistent mowing would take care of blackberry and briar. Spraying is probably quicker though and although I ahve never dealt with it I have heard briar can be a little tough on tires.

Blackberry is actually very difficult to get rid of without spraying. Mechanical control is only effective if you follow a VERY rigid schedule with it. We've been spraying 15 acres of pasture that has it very badly the last week as weather permitted with SpeedZone Southern. Blackberry is not on the label but with 2,4-D and Dicamba as the active ingredients, I was certain it would work so we did a small test a couple of weeks ago and it roasted it down very quickly. It isn't the cheapest method but you could probably get generic 2,4-D and Dicamba separate and mix it yourself to get the same results. We're using 44oz of SpeedZone per acre.

Here are some pics of stuff we sprayed on Saturday. He got an inch of rain on it today but it's already burning down so the damage is done, too late for them to recover.

Here's a link to a good article on controlling blackberry - Wild Blackberries Management Guidelines--UC IPM

 

[KiotiKowboy]

The trick with spraying is timing. Blackberry briars reverse sap into the roots at a specific time - You want the spray to go with it. If you spray, you shouldn't cut until after the fruit.

 

[DT86]

Remedy works well on the briar. Count on spraying for 3 years to get it under control. The best time to spray is after they bloom.

I've always been told to spray while they are in bloom. I spot spray with Crossbow once and have a 100% success rate, so far at least.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I've always been told to spray while they are in bloom.

We said the same thing - differently

Wait for the blooms ....

 

[TomSeller]

The trick with spraying is timing. Blackberry briars reverse sap into the roots at a specific time - You want the spray to go with it. If you spray, you shouldn't cut until after the fruit.

I think that is the case with berries and Roundup, but Crossbow works in the spring and summer as well. I sprayed some berries with Crossbow last Friday and by Saturday the berries were all droopy.