2,4-D question

[EddieWalker]

There are no crops or anything within miles of where I live. It's all pine timber and some hay pasture that isn't being cut anymore.

My plan is to measure out an acre and figure out how much water it takes to cover it once and go from there.

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[farmer2009]

Eddie,

That 300 gal tank on a coupe would cover 20 acres at 15 gal/acre. Plenty of water for most weeds and chemicals. Suggest buying it at a farm store not lowes. Your price sound a little high.

What rate of chemical are you shooting for? 1 quart per acre?

Now to calibrate your sprayer. Guessing you have an electric pump. Get a jar hold under one nozzle while running sprayer and catch water for specific time. Then measure. May need to measure in ml then convert to ounces. 29.57 ml per ounce.
Know or measure your speed. And how many inches that nozzle is covering.

Say you measured your sprayer for 30 seconds. Figure out how far you will travel in 30 seconds. 4mph=176feet per 30 seconds. And one nozzle in good for 20 inches. That one nozzle will cover 294 sq feet in 30 seconds. Say you caught 12 ounces. Your rate will be 43560/294=148. 148*12/128=13.88 gal per acre.

Now just note the pressure your pump was running at and you can fine toon it to what ever you want.

The labels on chemicals sold at lowes are usually residential labels not at labels so they tell you how many sq feet the bottle will do not how much per acre to apply. Look up the labels on greenbook.net or cdms.net

 

[rswyan]

Eddie, I always had mine put out by the fertilizer dealer the 1st application of liquid fert each year. They used a die and foamer at the end of each boom, to cut down on over application, or missed spots. You may look into something like that and treat the whole tank. Double coverage takes away from your calculations.

TSC sells a dye for spraying which is pretty pricey ($20 for 1/2 quart ?) ... they also sell "Blue Bayou", a colorant for ponds to hold down/suppress algae growth ... sometimes they put it on sale for $10 off (regular $39 per gallon, on sale for $29)

That's what I use.

(Note: A little goes a long ways - I use maybe 4 to 6 oz per 25 gallon tank)

 

[BeltfedGoodness]

I just went through this last week with a 200 gal sprayer with grazon and remedy product for pasture spraying.

it was recommended by Dow chemical for 1.2 to 1.5 pints per acre for the Grazon and 1-2 quarts per 100 gallons for the Remedy. Your chosen chemical should have a recommended guideline to shoot for for application rates.

I found a calibration chart for sprayers that may be of use to you.
Swath width of 35' with a calibration length of 157'. This is what my sprayer can do and the math I used to find out how many gallons per acre were sprayed.

1. Measure out 157'. (only good for 35' swath)
2.Drive the 157' course length in the gear and rpm/sprayer PSI range you plan on using while spraying.
3. Time the start and stop time of the course of 157'.
4. Then garbage bag the sprayer nozzle and catch water sprayed at the same rpm/PSI as you would be spraying for the same amount of time you achieved on the test course. (you are basically catching the sprayed water as if you just drove the 157' course for thee exact amount of time)
5. The amount of pints caught in the garbage bag will reflect how many gallons you will spray in one acre.



Hope this makes.....It does work nicely as I achieved 22.5 gallons per acre at my spray rate with my rig and mixed the appropriate chemical ratio for the acreage desired. Remember, the water is basically the carrier for the chemical, its ok to spray more or less water as long as the mix is right.

Results>>>>The very next day i had sick looking weeds and honey locust bushes (HATE THEM).
Trouble is its gets expensive if you have 60 acres plus to do.

 

[D7E]

10 gallons an acre is nice but you cant get enough acres out of a tank and spend forever filling up . 7.5 gal/acre works for me so I can squeeze 80 acres from one tank load .

 

[hawkeye08]

This is the one I used...

Here is the easiest field sprayer calibration method I've found yet - Machinery - HayTalk - Hay & Forage Community

 

[nc redneck]

A lot of weeds might be because soil is not right. I would send dirt sample and get advice from local AG office. I did and results have been fantastic.
They recommended lime at 3 tons per acre and specific mix of fertilizer. Local supply can mix to what you need and apply in large equipment cover 60 feet in one pass. In the end cheaper than you can do on your own.
I did fertilizer as recommended, 1 1/2 ton per acre of lime ( wait 6 months then do again ) and Grazon Plus. End results have been worth it.
Others who farm for a living can probably look at and tell you what you need faster than you can cut a 2 by 4.

 

[farmer2009]

Eddie can you post some pictures of the weeds you are wanting to kill or atleast name them. There could be something more effective for you to spray. Also what kinds of plants are you trying to leave? Do you care about clovers and such?

 

[EddieWalker]

Here in TX, 2,4-D and Grazon are controlled and you need an applicators license to buy it. So instead, I'm buying the smaller quantities for homeowners. No regulations this way.

There are so many weeds out there that I'm really just trying to get rid of as many as I can. The first try with the Spectracide brand of weed killer did such an amazing job that we want to do the same in our other pastures. Then after we've done that, we can try to identify what else is out there and deal with it.

You guys have answered my question and then some. I'm going to get bigger nozzles and figure out how much water I'm spraying per acre. That seems to be the biggest issue.

I tried a blue die years ago and found it almost impossible to see. Was it just me or is it something that others find hard to see? Is the red easier to see?

Eddie

 

[farmer2009]

Only used to the dies doing spray penetration test. But always hated them they stained the tanks and you couldn't see your mix. I love a foam marker system but they can be pricy. Now that I like the pink or blue foam dies for. There are to many plants that bloom white flowers the pink really pops. Just remember if you get it on you it stays for a few days.