well, ok…and other weeds in my small pastures. Lack of care in the last year has brought out the buttercups in force. now, I want to know best way to attack, and improve. Grazon has been mentioned to me. My ‘pastures’ are small turnouts that I strive to keep in grass here in SE VA. Only one retireree and one mini. both have small turnout/run for sacrifice areas too. Hay year round. but now I want to get all weed addressed safely, pull soil samples, prepare/lime/ fert as needed and overseed probably?? some work on my own…some overseeding once temps are right for a nice bermuda for grazing in a ‘walk about scatter’ method with using my Newer spreader for prep after a buzz cut and before rain…and also plan for a pasture mix/or fescue overseed best timing in pre fall/early fall as well. Given that plan…how would the herbicide best be applied for the weed already up now…and is a mixture? of a fertilizer to talk to the good stuff along with the herbicide suggested be adviseable? one last biggee: i’ve gotten my Newer Spreader just recently. my plan: to use it for scooping manure spots up in turnouts and spread as needed…some reading on Grazon suggests it transfers to the manure in compost and I’m wondering if I do apply for the weed issue if I should then after not spread any of the manure ? 
damned if you do, damned if you don’t) also…I dont’ have farm equipment, just my little garden tractor and the brand new Newer spreader, so not sure I can do this work ‘on my own’ vs. hireing someone.
They are a pain. You don’t say where you are. If you still in the cooler part of spring then you can use 2,4,d Ester (the cooler weather version) @ 3 pts/acre. It will kill them. I have, so far, used enough to kill the little buggers on about 20 acres and have 20 acres to go. We will shortly be rotating pastures and I’ll use the same strength 2,4,d Amine (the warmer weather version, as late spring may FINALLY have arrived in the TN Valley ;)).
I also used a version called Crossbow at the same strength and it was quite effective. It has additional herbicide and slightly broader coverage.
Watch the grazing limits on whatever you use. They are found in the information booklet on the jug of material (or you can read it on line if you Google the product you want to use). Some have longer “fallow” time limits than others and some have restriction on meat animals. If all you’re doing is horses that last item might not make a difference. If you’ve any other animal it might.
For specific information you can call your County Agent and they will make a site visit and tell you in great detail what you can, and cannot, do. Generally, however, 2,4,d is safe and effective product when used IAW label directions.
Next year do what I didn’t do this year (due to our extreme rainfall) and try to get your weeds early in their cycle, before they blossom. This reduces the risk of them going to seed before you can kill them and it also means you can apply material at a much lower rate, significantly reducing your costs. Sadly, this is HIGHLY weather -dependent and this year the Weather Gods did not smile on East TN! ;(
Good luck in your program.
G.
- Get soil samples and send those off for analysis.
- We use 2-4-D in a sprayer to kill buttercups. If your lots are small enough you can use a backpack sprayer. Or, get a little towable sprayer to pull with your lawn tractor (we use a 25 gallon sprayer in the bed of a Mule). 2-4-D is a lot cheaper than Grazon, I only use Grazon if I’m dealing with tougher (stemmier) weeds than something like buttercups. Next Spring, weather permitting, do as G said and spray earlier in their growth cycle.
- If you use Grazon, it WILL negatively impact your compost. I don’t know about 2-4-D in compost.
- when you get your test results, you’ll know what fertilizer and lime amounts you need.
I have fought weeds since about 2005 when we got some round bales that contained mostly weeds I guess. This year, due to the COV19 stuff closing the schools my daughter got one of her fellow teachers who is also a Professional Lawn care company to spray the yards and pastures with Professional grade chemicals.
No weeds.
None
All gone
I know I have bought gallons and gallons of 2-4-D and other weed killers and the weeds laughed at me
I tried Grazon HL for my pasture with a ton of buttercups this year and good lord did it kill the mess out of them. I can literally tell where I did and didn’t get coverage by where there are a handful of stragglers. It did also kill every bit of clover I had, so I’m currently almost barren and trying to get some K31 and a little bit of clover mixed in to take off.
I think with the Grazon HL, you’re supposed to wait until the following fall to overseed, but I’m small acreage and need things to get rolling sooner than later.
2,4, d WILL do in red clover. I’ve seen it stress my white clover but at lower doses it did not kill it.
Read and follow the label so you don’t make a mistake!
G.
If buttercups are blooming, it’s too late for 2,4-D. Crossbow or wait until next year!
I managed to get 2,4-D down early last year, and had very little yellow. None this year. Success!
This is not correct. Mine were in full flower. The field was very yellow. Now it’s all green.
G.
I am in NE tn, so probably very close to you. Kinda scary, I have a little john deere and a newer spreader too! I went to the tractor supply around me and got a gallon of pasture pro and made them match rural kings price. I still have some butter cups but most and other weeds have wilted away. I called Gordons yesterday and they said what I googled for the amount, 1.56oz per gallon, was good and to spot spray new ones every 3 weeks. I think spring/summer has finally arrived though, yay!!!
Well let’s see here.
https://grazer.ca.uky.edu/content/buttercups-grazed-pastures
“Waiting until after flowers appear can be too late to implement control tactics.”
“For optimum results apply a herbicide in the early spring (February - March) before flowers are observed, when buttercup plants are still small and actively growing.”
https://extension.umd.edu/learn/controlling-buttercup-pastures
“The best time to spray buttercup is March to early April, before it blooms but once the average daytime temperature is at least 60 degrees.”
https://extension.tennessee.edu/WebPacket/Pages/WP-2014-03-PasturePests.aspx
“Nuisances like buttercups are easily removed with herbicides, but many producers don’t think about spraying weed killers until it is too late for spraying to be effective,” said Bates.
“Buttercup and thistle need to be sprayed before they bloom.”
Did you spray for buttercups last year, @Guilherme ?
Unfortunately for me, G and OP, it has been nothing but rain rain rain and mostly in the 40s to low 50s for highs, a random 60’er but then it pours rain and drops again. So around our area we are SOL this year on trying to get ahead early spring. It sucks
Totally get it! Absolutely! We’ve had tough weather here too. It’s been a weird year, huh?
But, as you can see from the links, spraying for buttercups once they’ve bloomed is…at best…“not optimal”
Oh I agree! Even the guy at Gordons that I talked to said the same thing, bad time of yr but work with what you have. Daughters daycare teacher always said " you get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit!" Lol thats about us with the weather and covid this year!!
Totally! But if spraying 2,4-D isn’t effective, why do it? We always talk about being specific with our herbicide, right?
My extension office says crossbow works on blooming buttercups, but 2,4-D doesn’t. Maybe check in with yours? 
Yes, I did.
And I’ve met Dr. Bates on several occasions. He also notes that if you’re going to use 2,4,d you want the Ester and you want three, 60 degree F days for optimal germination of the plants so that there is sufficient leaf for the chemical to be effective before the plant matures and flowers. We’ve not had three, 60 degree F days in my area where you could actually spray since about last October. That is NOT exactly the optimal conditions he envisions. So you “improvise, adapt, and overcome” and do it in less than optimal conditions. Or suffer gross loss of grazing/hay capacity…your choice.
So everything you noted is true. But everything also talked about in terms of “optimal” not “ineffective.” It just costs more. But the cost NOT doing the spray work is hideously more costly if you need that pasture/hay production.
G.
My buttercups can’t read. Some were blooming when it was finally dry enough to spray. They are dead. Thanks 2 4 D.
@Guilherme did you also spray them blooming last year? Maybe that’s why they’re back, if so?
I sprayed before bloom last year. Year before was field of yellow. Last year was few plants. This year is none.
Curious if spraying in bloom knocks off the flower, and doesn’t kill the plant. Looks good, but they just come back.
You say it’s more expensive spraying late. Are you using something different? Spraying more? How does timing otherwise change the price if you’re putting down 2,4-D early versus late?
I do it because it is better than letting the buttercups take over? I have seen a difference in the amount still blooming, and it got rid of some to most of my other weeds. Less weeds to take up the fertilizer that I will spread in August is always a good thing, so if once a month till then I spot spray and it helps I say go for it!
Plus riding around or walking around with my little sprayer is fun, and keeps me from doing house chores hahaha
The last two years we have been pushing 200% of annual rainfall in the prime season to spray for early emergence weeds, like Buttercups. That means we don’t have a three day window plus another day which would be Dr. Bates’ recommendation. This year it was rare we went two days without rain from Feb. 1 to mid April. And sometimes those one or two days were times of high wind or low temps. The academic recommendations are valuable; but if the conditions on the ground do not allow us to follow them then what do we do?
In prior years I HAVE been able to follow the recommended guidelines and got a good result. The last two years…not so much.
The spraying I’ve done does kill the plant. I walked some of the fields yesterday and the they are starting to rot (one side benefit of lots of moisture and, for the past two days, warmer temps. I keep stock off a sprayed pasture/paddock usually for a week as palate-ability of plants can change as they die (they often become more “salty”) and that can be problem if the stock starts eating them. It also gives paddock grass a week to come on and be more attractive than dying weeds. Again, with our copious moisture if I add fertilizer (done this year at 80 lbs/acre of 46,0.0) and some sunlight the grass EXPLODES out of the ground.
The increased expense is the difference in the rate of application. For early emergence you can do 1.5-2 pts/acre and get good results. Now I’m having to double that to get the good result.
In theory if you kill the plant before it seeds you’re OK. The reality is that if the pest has had even one season to get a “head start” it can put enough seed in soil that while most will germinate the next season a percentage will not. I did not check this just now but I have a recollection that Buttercup seed can go from 2-3 years (and maybe as much a 5) dormant in the ground. This means at emergence time you have to walk the fields and see what is trying to emerge. That can be tough if the field is like a wet sponge. And even if you CAN walk it that doesn’t mean you can drive a 4000 pound tractor over it with a spray rig.
Our late winter and early spring weather in the TN Valley is ALWAYS wet. That makes weed killing, and putting up hay, a challenge. So, we do the best we can within that world.
G.
@Guilherme you’re always preaching about testing the soil, contacting the extension office, using the proper herbicide and reading the label. So it’s just…odd that your solution here is to dump more 2,4-D on the problem, instead of swapping out for an herbicide that has a record of being effective for your stage of growth?
My extension office tells me to use Crossbow if spraying after bloom. Maybe you should check it out.
