What should I do?

[Powder]

Last fall I planted WR. I'm a little late in my foodplotting this year but I still plan on planting rutabaga's. What should I do with rye that came back? Do I take the time to spray it or not? I'm planning throw-n-mow. I have sprayer, roller, mower and heavy drag to use for equipment.

This is what it looks like:

 

[scott44]

I have good luck rolling and spraying my brassica mix into the previous fall's rye. I broadcast my seed into the rye and roll it and spray it.

 

[yoderjac]

I'd throw and mow or roll.

 

[Powder]

Do you spray before rolling or after?

 

[scott44]

I have it set up where I roll and spray in one pass. When I had smaller plots I rolled them with the tires on the quad and sprayed after with a backpack sprayer and it work also.

 

[Powder]

I like your setup. That was what I was thinking but haven't done it yet. I plan on getting a sidexside to replace my 4 wheeler but haven't done it yet. I'm hoping the sprayer will fit on the back of it like you did.

Thanks!

 

[yoderjac]

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish and when. If the WR is mature and rolling (crimping is better) will kill it or it is old enough that it will die naturally, the only reason to spray is to kill other weeds, not the WR. In that case, I'd spray before because rolling the WR would likely protect some of the weeds from good coverage.

One purpose of rolling (or cultipacking) is to press the seed you have just broadcast into the ground for better seed/soil contact. If you want volunteer WR as part of your mix, then I would mow before rolling. This will help distribute the mature WR seed.

If you are planting early before the WR is close to becoming mature, crimping won't kill it and it will out compete your crop since it is established. In this case you are spraying not only to kill other weeds but also to kill the WR. Now, it becomes a judgment call. If the WR is thin enough and young enough that cultipacking won't cover other weeds to the point spray won't give you good coverage, you can spray after cultipacking if that is more convenient and it will work just as well.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[mikmaze]

add some crimson clover to the plan and you have a winning combo.

 

[wiscwhip]

If this were up to me, I would approach this in the following manner. First and foremost, I would want to use that free rye seed, that said, it has to be mature before doing any of the other steps or you risk it not germinating properly. Since you are planning on using rutabagas, and they are a long season brassica(average about 90 days to maturity), time is of the essence if you also want those to mature before your first frost date, which I assume is pretty early given the locations you have listed. As soon as the rye is mature(maybe that is right now), and if you think you need(or want) to spray for weeds, hit the whole field with a dose of gly. If it is not weedy, save your herbicide. Then you need to broadcast the rutabaga seed at 1.5 to 2 lbs per acre, followed by either mowing the rye or rolling it down. To be honest, I would do both(but I like seat time on the tractor), mowing will "spread" the rye seed more evenly than rolling alone, but I would also want the benefit of the added seed to soil contact provided by rolling it with a cultipacker. Obviously doing all those steps seems a bit redundant to some extent, but none of it will make your crop any less likely to succeed, and will potentially help in the long run. Lots of other good suggestions here as well, and this is just one way to do it. I do like mikmaze's suggestions of adding some clover, but I would not add crimson in your location, I would be more inclined to add some medium or mammoth red clover instead. Good luck and keep us posted!