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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443   
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Generally the two weedkillers on the market were Glyphosate or Paraquat.
Glyphosate is still the main dessicant and sold by Monsanto as Roundup and is very effective, and will sit on bare soil and severely check any new growth and can stay in the soil for between 40 to 90 odd days. It is however classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans"and harmfull to animals. Paraquat was even more deadly and has been forbidden for use in the European Union since 2007 allthough it is still used in America by "specialists". Paraquat is pretty lethal if swallowed and used to be the preferred method of suicide by farmers as it only needs 10ml or 2 teaspoons to cause fibrous tissues to develop in the lungs and kill by asphixyation, small amounts could take up to 30 days to kill you and there wern't many cures!. In the 1980's there was a highly publicised case of the wife who poisoned her husband using the brand name Gramoxone which was how it was marketed. She put some in the gravy of her husbands pie and ended up being convicted of murder in 1982. It ended up being used all around the world for murders and suicides as it was so easy to come by, every farm in the world used it. It was used by the Americans to destroy the cannabis fields in Mexico to try to cut down the amount of the drug entering the states but they still managed to miss loads. There are many links to Parkinsons disease in agricultural workers that have used Paraquat and now that I have typed this out makes me wonder why I thought about it again, I spent 30 years as an agricultural spray operator using these products plus as a shepherd I was dipping sheep with organophosphates so by all accounts I shall be dead soon 
Whatever you use, just be sensible and don't just waft it about willy nilly. It's best to spray in the calm of a morning where the forecast is for a warm sunny day, that way the product is taken up by the plants as they are most active in water take up and photosynthesis. Happy weedkilling  |
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2nd Jun 2015 7:39pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20453 
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I always wear disposable gloves when applying, that's why I use the product I suggested originally rather than using a pressurised sprayer / knapsack as if the calibration isn't correct it'll drift like hell even on a fine day if not careful then it gets on you too if your not covered up with appropriate gear
Of course if set up correctly though it's fine. As you say above just one of those things to be careful of like spray painting |
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2nd Jun 2015 7:55pm |
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| Toby60 Member Since: 06 Dec 2014 Location: Cheshire Posts: 28 
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In that case I'll pull the weeds out by hand as I don't want to leave that stuff lying around and the wife getting any ideas!!!
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2002 TD5 90 HT County |
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2nd Jun 2015 7:57pm |
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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443
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It's supposed to taste like flat coke and looks very similar so watch out for those mixers!
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2nd Jun 2015 8:24pm |
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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443
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Don't worry, my last full time spraying job was dessicating potato haulm and for that we used 77% sulphuric acid. Now that was instant foliage eradication!
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2nd Jun 2015 8:29pm |
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| shaggydog Member Since: 12 Aug 2012 Location: Kent Posts: 3347 
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I used to use sodium chlorate and it was very effective but then nasty people used to mix it with fairly innocuous products and make very powerful explosives from it so unsurprisingly it got banned.
Shame because for things like paths and driveways worked perfectly! Running Restoration Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/post323197.html#323197 Self confessed mileage hunter  |
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2nd Jun 2015 9:50pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20453
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Wasn't it fertiliser or something or other along those lines.
Interesting thread this where we can talk all things agricultural.  |
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2nd Jun 2015 9:53pm |
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| shaggydog Member Since: 12 Aug 2012 Location: Kent Posts: 3347
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I'm not going to post explosive making information on a public forum, that would be daft
Scarily it was something much much less unusual to have in the house..... Running Restoration Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/post323197.html#323197 Self confessed mileage hunter |
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2nd Jun 2015 9:55pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20453
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Indeed, I shan't ask.
It's quite scary to think most things mixed together are harmless but a volatile combination and you know it. 
One of the reasons some things say never to mix with other products, but with some people where there is no sense there's no feeling no doubt. 
I find a lot of these so called garden pest spray don't work for greenfly etc, I swear it's just soft soap. 
I heard garlic powder does a good job for that but never tried it. |
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2nd Jun 2015 10:01pm |
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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443
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Thirty years ago I used to be involved with experimental development work in agrochemicals and methods of application. There were all types of ideas from low volume rates of chemical along with low rates of water so the machines could be lighter or existing machines covering more area per fill. We had high speed machines where you were travelling across fields at 20mph, try sitting on the seat let alone keeping your line! We were atomising droplets and electrically charging them in order for them to "stick" to the target foliage. It is amusing that the bulk of agricultural spraying is still using the tried and tested methods that were thought up at the start. The use of agrochemicals has drastically reduced over the last 20 + years driven more by the industry trying to cut the input costs as well as pressure from the anti chemical lobby.
The paperwork that is involved is horrendous when applying the sprays, traceability of farm produce is a big thing in this country along with accountability and even back at the start of my 'career' I was inundated with recording every single thing from what chemicals I used, the rate of application, the weather and then there were the appraisals of the machine I was using, what speed, spraying pressures and how it performed etc etc. Then there were the experts that made the decisions as to what was to be sprayed and what products were to be used. It didn't help when you got a note on the bottom of your job sheet that said "Mix samples of all the products together in a bucket first in case there's a reaction"! On one farm the land was mangenese deficient so manganese needed to be added and it was applied as a liquid. You could buy liquid mangenese but the powdered Chinese stuff was so much cheaper. So muggins would have to mix 250 kg of powder in a tank of 1000l but to do so you'd have to make it into a paste first or it would just settle in the bottom of the tank and set like concrete. The manganese actually reacts with water and it heats up, it was comforting when it was frosty! Some other weedkillers that needed to be sprayed at the same time could cause the powder to seperate out and turn to jelly much like diesel waxing in the cold. So you prayed that your machine didn't break down because if it did you had a tankfull of chemical that couldn't be poured down the drain but if left in the tank with no agitation would block the whole thing up |
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2nd Jun 2015 10:41pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20453
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Anyone know of a selective one that'd be effective on creeping buttercup but not grass?
The Verdone Extra I used didn't seem to do a lot to that, it didn't like it much but it didn't kill it no where near. |
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3rd Jun 2015 12:09pm |
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| JWL Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: Hereford Posts: 3443
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The weedkiller you're looking for should be 2,4-D based probably marketed as 2,4-D Amine so have a look round in garden centres or agricultural stores. They're a great place for advice as well for the "less industrial" type of user.
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3rd Jun 2015 1:08pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20453
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Thank-you.
It's just strimmed off for now but it is indeed spreading given the chance and killing of the grass as it goes. I believe it has that effect via the root system. Made all the more complicated as it's on a steep bank with Cowslips and Primroses on too which I don't want to kill. The good thing is it's only about 30ft long by about 12ft. |
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3rd Jun 2015 2:17pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20453
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Well following on on this thread the Verdone certainly seems to have halted the creeping buttercup in its tracks and it's yellowish so that's good.
I've just used some today on yet more nettles, it's knocked them down with in about an hour they are showing signs of weeping and dying off. Of course this one is only a selective so doesn't affect grass. How has others performed? |
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8th Jul 2015 4:23pm |
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