I have a plot with lots of rye and warm season grasses that I want to convert to a clover/ chicory plot. I have some chicory and clover in it now and have frost seeded red clover a couple weeks ago. Will it hurt the new young clover to spray clethodim to kill out the warm season grasses in a few weeks? Thanks "D"
Clethodim and young clover?
- Thread starter D Hunter
- Start date
FarmerDan
5 year old buck +
I don't see any label restrictions or advice, but that doesn't mean there aren't possible effects from cleth sprayed on seedling clover. Clethodim should be sprayed mixed with crop oil. Crop oil can burn tender vegetation. Tender vegetation can survive IF is has a sufficient root system. Will your clover big old enough for the shock? I think I'd wait until the young clover has at least three trifoliate leaves. Many will recommend seeding clover only the the fall. This practice avoids many of the potential complications such as this one.
Simple answer: Yes, you will probably be OK, but proceed with caution.
Simple answer: Yes, you will probably be OK, but proceed with caution.
Corey Peterson
5 year old buck +
How much dish soap is a little? I have a 30 gallon tank on my ATV sprayer wondering how much to add.
TreeDaddy
5 year old buck +
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
I would definitely skip the crop oil and the dawn will do no harm. I use it when I spray gly around the house. I add it last to minimize foam.
Having said that, in you case D, I'm not sure I'd use cleth. It works best on young grasses. That would be the case if you planted a clover field in the spring. Not the best practice in my book, but if one planted clover in the spring, any grasses would be young and the cleth without crop oil would work. The older grasses are the less effective cleth becomes. Crop oil can help with that by stressing the grass as well. Dawn helps break down a protective layer some plants can produce. If you have every tried to use gly on something with glossy leaves you will find the plant has natural oils that kind of protect the plant. Dawn can break these down allowing the herbicide to work better.
Back to your case. The Winter Rye is your friend for establishing clover. The warm season grasses are not. If you kill the grasses you will kill the WR. In your case, I would simply keep the field mowed and see what you get. The mower won't control the grass but it also won't kill the WR. If you kill the WR, you will make more room for summer grasses and other weeds. After the winter rye dies naturally, and clover will be a bit older. At that point, you could let the field grow out. A wicking bar with gly could be used to select for clover by height as one approach. Another approach is to wait for next spring and use 1 qt/ac gly after green up and then overseed with clover.
Just some thoughts to consider.
Thanks,
jack
Having said that, in you case D, I'm not sure I'd use cleth. It works best on young grasses. That would be the case if you planted a clover field in the spring. Not the best practice in my book, but if one planted clover in the spring, any grasses would be young and the cleth without crop oil would work. The older grasses are the less effective cleth becomes. Crop oil can help with that by stressing the grass as well. Dawn helps break down a protective layer some plants can produce. If you have every tried to use gly on something with glossy leaves you will find the plant has natural oils that kind of protect the plant. Dawn can break these down allowing the herbicide to work better.
Back to your case. The Winter Rye is your friend for establishing clover. The warm season grasses are not. If you kill the grasses you will kill the WR. In your case, I would simply keep the field mowed and see what you get. The mower won't control the grass but it also won't kill the WR. If you kill the WR, you will make more room for summer grasses and other weeds. After the winter rye dies naturally, and clover will be a bit older. At that point, you could let the field grow out. A wicking bar with gly could be used to select for clover by height as one approach. Another approach is to wait for next spring and use 1 qt/ac gly after green up and then overseed with clover.
Just some thoughts to consider.
Thanks,
jack
Peplin Creek
5 year old buck +
I have pretty much done this exact same thing for the last couple years in one clover plot. In the spring I rake up a bunch of dead spots in the clover, then seed, well after frost seeding. Then around the end of May, I spray cleth on all the clover, even the new clover. It’s always turned out fine. Take some of the advice that’s given above about dish soap and waiting for the clover to get a decent start. No doubt you’ll be fine.
