# Getting rid of Thistle?



## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

I went up north this weekend to check out our food plots. We have four 2.5 acre plots of corn. For the most part I was pretty happy. 3 of the 4 plots are doing good. I went up this weekend with the intent to spray for weeds but with the off and on rain we had I have to wait till next weekend. My concern though is the one field, over half of it has that prickly thistle in it. This suff looks like its going to choke out alot of the corn. The corn is round up ready but the guy at the Co-op said round up will not kill the thistle. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of this. If I don't get it this coming weekend, I have a feeling I am going to lose alot of this field.
One other question, for the round up, does this mixture sound right, for a 2 acre field 2 quarts of round up with 60gallons of water? What do you guys think. Thanks for the help.


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## gunfun13 (Jun 13, 2003)

Roundup has always done the trick for me on thistle. Your spray sounds fine. As long as you're ending up with 1qt/acre of RU you should be in good shape.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

If you don't have alot of thistle try making one of these.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/docs/Weed_Wiper.pdf

If you do have a big problem google "weed wiper"


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

Very cool contraption. I've got a floor mop that operates kinda the same way. You dunk it then pull back the handle to squeeze out the water. I bet it would work the same. Thanks for the tip.


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## Anderson (May 17, 2005)

Alex, How tall is the corn and how tall are the thistles?


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

The corn is a foot to 2 feet depending on which field and the thistle. Where there is thistle its about a foot and the good areas its about 2 foot. The thistle is about 8" to 10" in spots.


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## Anderson (May 17, 2005)

Alex, The reason I asked, corn height makes a difference on what products you can economically add to get the thistles without dinging the corn. At this stage I would use your glyphosate program. You can do some things to improve your control on the thistles. 1) bump your glyphosate rate up to 1.5 qts/acre. 2)Add some more surfactant to the mix. Even if the glyphosate has surfactant already in it. 3) Increasing the water can increase coverage but doesn't always improve control. I don't go over 15 gallons of water per acre and have gone as low as 5-7 gallons. A lower volume means that every drop will have a higher concentration of glyphosate in it. 

You may be able to kill the thistles with your current program. However, by adding any one of these ideas should improve your odds. These are some of the things that get recommended this time of year to improve control in ag fields that have gotten hairy. 

Tim


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

Thanks for the info Anderson, I will definately take the advice. Any suggestions for the surfactants?


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## Anderson (May 17, 2005)

Alex, My current favorite is a product called N-Tense. It is a water conditioner with a nonionic surfactant included. In fact I took an order for 250 gallons of generic glyphosate this afternoon and we're putting N-Tense with it. (Disclaimer: I'm bias) I use between 1-2 pints of N-Tense per 100 gallons of water. I like the commercial nonionic surfactants for several reasons and use them on my place. However if you don't have much to spray and need something in a pinch, use dish soap or liquid laundry soap. The laundry soap doesn't have the suds of dish soap in a spray tank. 

Tim


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

Tim, I do appreciate the info, can I ask how much laundry detergent to add in 60 gal of water? Can I get N-Tense at the local Co-Op? Is it expensive?


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## walleyeman2006 (Sep 12, 2006)

if you use soap a little vegitable oil helps too...what type of rig are you using to apply?


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## Anderson (May 17, 2005)

Alex, Your local coop may have it. They however may try to sell you their stuff. I don't think its as good but again I'm bias. If you are using soap I would use 1 qt per 100 gallons of water. For 60 gallons that would be about 1 pt.

Tim


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

Walleyeman, I am using a 3pt 60 gal FIMCO sprayer w/10ft boom. Using a Massey Ferguson 180 to spray with.


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## walleyeman2006 (Sep 12, 2006)

since you have a small plot not a big 10 acre mess id sugest maybe just a hand sprayer and being very careful......there are a few times i do with 20 gallons what could take 300......canadian thistle gets harder and harder to kill the bigger it gets......im guessing thats what you mean by prickly.....the other thistle with yellow flowers usually gets mowed off by deer they love the buds before it flowers.......if you go through and just wound it your asking to find some resistant plants next year.....

just my opinion but id go with a low volume high consontration take the time to walk through hit it hard and make sure its right ......even a round up rope drug through the corn straight down the rows....

when you add oil to dish soap it stops the foam some what and it makes the spray droplets spread easier.......

i do a lot more bursh spraying then anything else but ive still probably used about 200 gal of glyphosate this year........and i am state lisenced ...and really need to get to bed if the rain doesnt come i getta work in 5 hrs lol.......anderson you sound like some one i may know or should know....good luck alex


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

Thanks for all your help guys. I'm going to try it this weekend but the forcast isn't looking to favorable. Calling for chance of t-storms Sat and Sun. I have to take my chances though and spray.


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