Handspraying two hectares of new woodland?

[Alan M]

Hi 
I've just planted 2000 broadleaf trees with tubes and stakes over 2 hectares of rank pasture.

I'd like to keep the competitive grass down for the first few years if possible. It would be good to have, say, a 30cm radius of clear ground around each one using roundup or similar. 

Has anyone used a knapsack sprayer on this scale? If so, can you give a view on the amount of time  needed to individually treat 2000 trees. They are randomly scattered so there is no way of using a machine/tractor sprayer.

Many thanks

Alan

 

[openspaceman]

It's a very long time since I did this, so I cannot remember how long it took. I used an arborguard on a CP3 knapsack sprayer, two squirts at right angles to each other for each tree.

 

As you approach the tree you need to avoid dripping chemical from the arborguard onto the crop.

 

[Muddy42]

3 hours ago, Alan M said:

Hi 
I've just planted 2000 broadleaf trees with tubes and stakes over 2 hectares of rank pasture.

I'd like to keep the competitive grass down for the first few years if possible. It would be good to have, say, a 30cm radius of clear ground around each one using roundup or similar. 

Has anyone used a knapsack sprayer on this scale? If so, can you give a view on the amount of time  needed to individually treat 2000 trees. They are randomly scattered so there is no way of using a machine/tractor sprayer.

Many thanks

Alan

 

 

You can get or make a device to protect the tree and direct the spray elsewhere.  Personally I wouldn't bother and just wait and see what happens.  Yes, grass can slow down growth but it generally doesn't grow high enough to cover the guards or kill them like bracken.

 

[tree-fancier123]

never sprayed off that big an area - if someone asked me I would buy a spray shield and some spray marker dye ( blue so I can see whats been sprayed)

 

[slack ma girdle]

2000 trees won't take long, providing that your mixing station can follow you round.

[woody paul]

Will not take long if square plot, I use to do a area of trees 25m wide and 750m long, landed up doing it in section then move truck down with suppliers. 

I always only ever filled knap sack with 10 litres kinder on back if ground is uneven.. 

[green heart]

Get a quad bike or 4x4 etc to tow around a couple of water barrels and your Glyphosate, in February/March .

Med/coarse nozzle on knapsack. 

You won't need any spray guards if you spray before buds break into leaf.

You won't need dye if working on your own. 

Mix in some flazasulphuron, for useful residual control element.

You should manage around 500/day depending on the usual variables. 

 

[woody paul]

NO SPRAY GUARD NEEDED AS IN TUBES. 1 metre square is best. On all the spraying I did years ago would just band spray rows and then it would be mowed between rows. 

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, woody paul said:

NO SPRAY GUARD NEEDED AS IN TUBES

Yes I missed that but no need to shout, Mr. Tuley hadn't gone into production then so we only had spiral guards , it was pre FEPA when I used pesticides.

 

BTW I am not sanguine about exposing the bark of young broadleaves to glyphosate.

[Amarus]

Grass will absolutely kill your trees via root competition for water. Plus voles will nest/find cover in it if thick (assuming no further grazing/cutting due to the trees) and eat your trees.

 

2000 trees should take about half a day or less for an experienced operator using a bog standard 15l knapsack, provided the trees are not miles away from each other. You don't want anything heavier on your back and there is no need for any convoluted contraptions or mechanical means as the trees are in shelters.

 

Spray a circle around the base of the trees, make sure it is about a 1m across (0.5m radius)

 

I suggest using Kerb Flo against the grass, it is a residual herbicide & doesn't affect anything else, even if you overspray the trees (no chance of that in the shelters anyway). Must be used in December and January, needs frost for activation. Light rain is helpful, don't spray when frozen or during heavy rain. Read the label, as usual.

 

If the winter is as mild in your area as in mine, and or there are other things than grass are present you want to combine Kerb Flo with glyphosate even in the winter.

 

This is all you need for the first season. If you did the Kerb right (you should end up with a bare patch of earth) and have nothing else growing on the field, you might not need to spray until the year after next. Docks and other nasties will conqueror the bare patch afterwards (or grass occasionally); as and when this happens go back with glyphosate April/May time each year.  If you have strong bramble, you can use Grazon.

 

Did I say always read the label and follow all relevant legislation, use of PPE and all that?

 

Or pay someone to do it for you, if they know what are they doing should be done before lunchtime. Should be one man day plus some  chemicals.