# Spray and cut or Cut and Spray



## Davans

Getting started on the food plots this weekend.

 If I spray with round up do I need to wait until the weeds have died out? Or can I spray it and cut it a couple of days later before they die? ( if so. How long should I wait after spraying to cut? )will it continue to to kill weeds after I have sprayed and cut?

 Or, should I cut them back first and then spray. It just seems to me that there will be less getting to the weeds due to all the cut grass being in the plot.

 Thanks


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## Canuck5

Your weeds/grass have to be actively growing in order to do the most good and you want to have the greatest leaf contact with your chemicals.  Spray when the temperatures are less than 85 degrees and little wind.

If it was me ...... I would spray (assuming the above conditions) and just let them die.  You'll see the foliage above the ground go brown, but as important, what is below the ground will be dead too.  What this means, is that you working your soil will be a lot easier because of the completely dead root system.

If you have a tractor and a set of good disc harrows, that probably won't matter much because it will go thru the weeds/grass easily.  If you don't, then having what is dead and dried up underground will make a difference with an ATV type disc.  If you cut it and we get lots of rain and you have a "mat" on the surface, it may make things harder to till, with an ATV as well.

But in any event, in your question above if that is what you prefer to do, I would spray and wait at least a week and then cut it, if you can.  My plan is to plant the weekend of September 21st, so, for me, there is still lots of time to let everything die.


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## jr123

Do you spray round-up, or something else? I know round-up is expensive and was wondering if there was an alternative for a cheaper method to spray?


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## Canuck5

You can buy generic 41% Glyphosate a whole lot cheaper than it used to be.  Looks like the price has gone up a little, but $45 for 2 1/2 gallons isn't bad.

http://www.agrisupply.com/glystar-glyphosate-herbicide-weed-grass-killer/p/50135/

Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide and will kill most everything except woody plants.

Glyphosate is the main ingredient in RoundUp, but there are lots of generics out there these days.


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## Forest Grump

Roundup (glyphosate) is a foliar herbicide, it has no soil activity & the only way it gets into roots is by the plant pumping it in there (basically).

So with either of your initial options, you're wasting your spray $: if you mow shortly after spraying, you just chopped off all the stuff you sprayed & the plant will recover from the root. If you mow first, but don't wait for the plants to begin growing back before you spray; you're trying to get enough on those little stem tips to kill the roots, which isn't likely to be very effective. 

Glyphosate is about the cheapest herbicide you'll find: a gallon is about 23 $ @ TSC, 2.5 g around 43-45, like Canuck said for Agri-supply, there's a TSC on every corner now.

Either way, there seems to be little to gain from spraying if you are unwilling to wait for the herbicide to work.


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## Milkman

cutting the tall stuff makes a lot of debris that will keep the spray from getting onto the plants/grass.

Unless it it too high to drive over you need to spray first IMO.


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## Davans

I'll go ahead and get it sprayed this weekend and plan on bush hoging in the next week or so. Then get it turned over and planted.

Thanks Guys.

BTW. I buy generic Glyphosate. It seems that the price between Round Up and the generic stuff has closed a bit this year. Be sureand check the % of Glyphosate when comparing brands.


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## Wild Turkey

I dont spray.
Bushog, rake with gravel rake one weekend.
turn over next weekend
wait a week
finish plow, fertilize, seed and done.
We dont get many weeds at all.

i takes a good 7 days for Glosophate to get inside the plant. wont kill seeds already in the ground.


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## Gadestroyer74

Pretty much everything has been covered if it was me I would already now wait 10 days bush Hogg after that then wait 2 more weeks spray again then plow seed and plant. Like Canuck said I would not plant any earlier than sept 21 there is plenty for the deer to eat the acorn crop is going. I time mine so that its has about 3 weeks growth by the end of October acorns start playing out you have a nice stand of young tender growth.


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## 01Foreman400

I cut and wait 2 weeks then spray.  Works great for me.


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## bowandgun

It takes about 20 minutes for round up to work.  When I owned Orange groves we would spray even if rain was forecasted.


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## Wild Turkey

I must be stupid. 
spray live plants, mow them to the ground, rip out the roots with a plow. how many times can u kill a plant/weed.
I can see spraying, kill the plant dead, then rake the whole dead plant out the plot. That saves the mowing part. Done that.
But all three?
And you still got 10 million annual weed seeds in the dirt ready to grow next spring. Roundup aint gonna kill seeds.


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## livetohunt

01Foreman400 said:


> I cut and wait 2 weeks then spray.  Works great for me.



This is what I do too..If I don't mow first, then the weeds are too high and interfere with my ATV boom sprayer. Two weeks seems to be a good waiting period after mowing.


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## papachaz

Wild Turkey said:


> I must be stupid.
> spray live plants, mow them to the ground, rip out the roots with a plow. how many times can u kill a plant/weed.
> I can see spraying, kill the plant dead, then rake the whole dead plant out the plot. That saves the mowing part. Done that.
> But all three?
> And you still got 10 million annual weed seeds in the dirt ready to grow next spring. Roundup aint gonna kill seeds.



As canuck put in his first post, the purpose of spraying first is to get the poison into the root system of the plant. It kills it, yes. That makes it easier to disk. If you don't kill it first, just mow and disk, you're not going to get the roots of every plant exposed so it will die, and a good portion of it will grow back. 

yes there are going to be some seed hit the ground, and you're disking it back into the ground to come up again next year, that's why ya work the plots every year


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## The Longhunter

livetohunt said:


> This is what I do too..If I don't mow first, then the weeds are too high and interfere with my ATV boom sprayer. Two weeks seems to be a good waiting period after mowing.



I like to do this too.  Cut it long, cutting stimulates growth, takes up more Roundup.

What you don't want to do is spray old dormant growth in the summer.


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## Rebel 3

I buy generic glyphosate.  It helps to add some surfactant to help it stick to the leaves better.  A teaspoon of dish soap per gallon works good as a surfactant.


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## bandit819

We mow then wait a day or two to spray. We do that in late August then check plots in mid to late Sept and repeat if neccisary(usually not). We then fert, harrow and plant in early Oct


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## Gadestroyer74

X^^ that's exactly what I do also...


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## fowl play

the best results I have had were spraying 3-4 weeks prior to planting, then I leave the dead grasses/weeds standing and run a no-till drill through the sprayed area.  By leaving everything standing you don't have a mat of dead grasses to plow and drill over.  after I plant with my drill I will come back and mow everything down.  By doing this I save myself time and money on the plowing end, the dead matter left from spraying will act as additional fertilizer for the soil (like composting).  I have done this for years with excellent results. It is important to do soil studys and add proper lime/fertilizer when needed.


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## stuart smith

Spray it let it die and burn it.


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## Crakajak

jr123 said:


> Do you spray round-up, or something else? I know round-up is expensive and was wondering if there was an alternative for a cheaper method to spray?



Depends on what you have planted. Do not spray round up on perennial clover unless you know what you are doing or want to kill it.. Round up is non selective.
Annual food plots can be sprayed with glysophate without harming any seed that is on the ground


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## Bransdad

If you have your pesticide licenses Honcho is a  generic brand of Roundup. When using roundup/honcho I use carmex and sinbar (herbicides). I also use a spreader ( grounded)when applying the above.  As stated by a previous poster I like to apply during a light rain or mist or a few days before rain. Another product you may want to look at is poast and a herbicide oil. Apply it twice within a week or ten days and you will get a good kill.


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## Killdee

I have done it both ways. I recently sprayed 3 tall plots, knee deep or better, that havent been worked or cut since last fall and on the other property, I cut first and sprayed a couple weeks later. I think the lack of rain between the cut and spray hurt the kill process because it hadnt had time to recover and actively grow. It appears that I got a much better kill on the uncut plots. I sprayed one yesterday that really needed to be cut first, it has weeds 5-6' tall in places. I'll report back on this one later.


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## Cornfed

Well guys it seems to be the same answer again: it depends.

Before I ever got into food plots  I gained my glyphosate experience with landscaping and gardening at my house. Man it makes my pine islands easier to manage. Cracks in driveways, spot control in the grass , flower beds, etc. Cut out sweet gum sprouts and should've applied a little layer of the stuff on thr stumps but I didn't. Ive even caved in and sparingly used it in my vegetable garden on select occasions after year of saying I didn't want chemicals in there. But wow is it hard to beat.

Lots of different ways to use the stuff.

My father in law told me they never sprayed for weeds when he was growing up on their farm, they would just plow everything under, plant, fertilize, spray for bugs and pray for rain. That was subsistence farming too.

For food plots this year I sprayed an old spot that was covered on knee high grasses and blackberries and will bush hog it in a week hopefully, then try to disc the plant matter in before planting. 

We have some places on thr property that are so overgrown we are going to get into prescribed burn cycles to get it into a manageable situation. Other strips of ground are covered in blackberries that the tractor can probably bush hog right over next year, but I'd give the greenery some time to recover and leaf out before getting them sprayed so the roots can suck down the glyphosate. Then we'll probably mow and disc it under.


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## buckmanmike

anybody have a recipe to kill wild witersia. I sprayed about 5 acres 3 weeks ago with roundup. Good kill on everything except wisteria, its thriving.  I have some Grasson(?), not positive on spelling, but its supposed to kill some woody plants. Will this kill the wisteria? other recomendations?


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## 01Foreman400

buckmanmike said:


> anybody have a recipe to kill wild witersia. I sprayed about 5 acres 3 weeks ago with roundup. Good kill on everything except wisteria, its thriving.  I have some Grasson(?), not positive on spelling, but its supposed to kill some woody plants. Will this kill the wisteria? other recomendations?



Remedy.


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## pitbull

I cut down then spray,  for work and plots... works everytime! As long as its hot and a drop touches it anywhere in 30min get to tilling! I also mix 24d  with round up.  Don't be cheap mix it strong spray it heavy. Some says its works better other ways well my way works for me perfect.


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## Core Lokt

01Foreman400 said:


> Remedy.



or Escort


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## jimbo4116

Canuck5 said:


> Your weeds/grass have to be actively growing in order to do the most good and you want to have the greatest leaf contact with your chemicals.  Spray when the temperatures are less than 85 degrees and little wind.
> 
> If it was me ...... I would spray (assuming the above conditions) and just let them die.  You'll see the foliage above the ground go brown, but as important, what is below the ground will be dead too.  What this means, is that you working your soil will be a lot easier because of the completely dead root system.
> 
> If you have a tractor and a set of good disc harrows, that probably won't matter much because it will go thru the weeds/grass easily.  If you don't, then having what is dead and dried up underground will make a difference with an ATV type disc.  If you cut it and we get lots of rain and you have a "mat" on the surface, it may make things harder to till, with an ATV as well.
> 
> But in any event, in your question above if that is what you prefer to do, I would spray and wait at least a week and then cut it, if you can.  My plan is to plant the weekend of September 21st, so, for me, there is still lots of time to let everything die.



And add some AMS to your round up.  Also a surfactant if the glypo does not come with one pre-mixed.  The surfactant will stick the round up to the plants and the AMS will increase the efficacy of the glypho.


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