Freehand Herbicide

Additional information

• When should I apply my lawn pre emergent?

  The best time to apply these products is in the early spring as this is before broadleaf weeds begin to grow. For grass weeds like summer grass apply later say in late spring or early summer. This weeds germinate later, so by applying your pre emergent later you will get longer control.

• What is a turf herbicide?

  Turf herbicides, also known as weedkillers are pesticides used to control and manage undesirable plants. It is important that when you use a turf herbicide that you precisely follow the label directions. If you don't do this then the herbicide may fail to control the target weed, damage the turf grass or even prevent you from being able to reseed or re-turf damaged areas. Turf herbicides can be:

  • Selective or non selective. Selective turf herbicides are able to specifically target the weed without damaging the desirable turf grass. Non selective turf herbicides kill everything.
  • Pre emergent or post emergent. Pre emergent turf herbicides prevent weeds from growing and becoming and are used before weeds grow. Post emergent kill weeds after they have emerged.
  • Work against broadleaf weeds or grass weeds.

   

• What pre emergent herbicide kills bindi?

  Before you go putting down a pre emergent herbicide realise that the best way of stopping any weed is to have healthy dense turf. If you have this it will choke out competing weeds and so you don't have to spray any chemicals. However in some cases you might need to apply a pre emergent herbicide. My two go to pre emergents for bindii are an oxadiazon based product such as Echelon® or Echelon Duo® or for longer control products based on prodiamine such as Onset 10GR® if I want to use a granular option or Barricade® herbicide if I want to use a liquid. Both of these active ingredients give excellent control against this troublesome weed.

• How does pre emergent herbicide work?

  Withouit going into too much detail pre emergent herbicdies form a barrier a the surface and prevent weeds from establishing. They have no effect at all on weed seeds.

• Does pre emergent herbicide kill grass?

  If you follow the label the answer is a simply no.

• Where to buy pre emergent herbicide near me?

  Gilba solutions supplies into NSW, VIC, QLD and the ACT. For areas outside of these feel free to contact us and we are only too happy to point you in the right direction as to where to get product at the best price.

• Are there any new pre emergent herbicides?

  The newest pre emergent active ingredient is indaziflam sold as Specticle® which was introduced several years ago. However, the newest products on the market are both granular products and produced by Indigo Specialty. These are called Echelon Duo® and Onset 10GR® These are based on oxadiazon and prodiamine respectively.

• Can I core after applying a pre-emergent herbicide?

  We get asked this a lot. The general view is that aerating afterwards is not a good idea. The thinking is that this will break through the "barrier" and prevent it from working. However, there is turf research[mfn]. Branham, B. E. and P. E. Rieke. 1986. Effects of turf cultivation practices on the efficacy of preemergence grass herbicides. Agronomy Journal 78:1089- 1091. [/mfn] showing that this might not be an issue. Solid tining should be OK, but there might be issues with hollow tine aeration due to soil removal. Although pre-emergent herbicide labels don’t recommend aerating, research has not shown any reduction in summer grass control.

  • After applying oxadiazon, core aeration did not affect crowsfoot control. 
  • Monroe et. al., also showed that aeration did not affect the control of summer grass[mfn]Monroe, J. H., W. M. Lewis. J. M. DiPaola. 1990. Aerification effects on preemergence herbicide activity. Weed Science Society of America Abstracts 30:27[/mfn]. 

  As a general rule, however, if the site requires coring, then carry it out.

• Why fertilize turf?

  The main reason to fertilize turf is so that it can grow properly. Fertilizing is like eating a meal. If we don't eat the right things regularly and in the right amounts then we will get sick or not grow properly. The aim of anyone growing turf is to provide a healthy, stress-tolerant surface that can withstand a high level of wear. The key to achieving this is selecting the correct fertilizer. This has a major influence on turf health. Too much nitrogen and the turf can become extremely prone to disease and have a low tolerance to wear. Too little nitrogen and recovery and growth are limited. All the major nutrients (N, P, K) and secondary (S, Ca, Mg) are required in larger amounts than the traces (B, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn) but all of important roles to play in the growth of the turf plant.  

• What do the letters and numbers on a fertilizer bag mean?

  Every fertilizer bag should have the nutrient analysis marked as N, P, K, S, Mg, Ca, and whatever trace elements are present. These are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, magnesium and calcium respectively. In Australia, we use the elemental labelling system for nutrient analysis. In Europe and the USA, they use the oxide analysis. This can lead to some confusion. The nitrogen figure is the same with both systems but P, K, etc. are different. Using potassium nitrate as an example, this is labelled as 13-0-36 in Australia and 13-0-43 in the USA, even though it's the same product.  Consequently, to go from:

  • Elemental K to the oxide form divide by 0.83 (or multiply by the inverse, 1.2).
  • To go from elemental P to the oxide form, simply divide by 0.44 (or multiply by the inverse, 2.27).
  • Similarly, to go from Ca to CaO, divide by 0.715 (or multiply by 1.39), and
  • Finally, to go from Mg to MgO, divide by 0.602 (or multiply by 1.66).

   

• When is the best time to fertilize turf?

  Generally, the best time for lawn fertilization is in the spring when the soil temperature reaches 10ºC. At this temperature things are just beginning to grow, so the turf needs feeding. Feeding at this time will get the turf growing nicely heading into the summer. Autumn feeding of warm-season turf increases turf density. It encourages new tillers, rhizomes, stolons, and more shoot growth. If you overseed, it will also help promote the growth of the young seed and consequently promote the production of carbohydrates. This helps turf survive winter stresses and encourages spring growth. On golf course greens, regular light feeding throughout the year can have benefits in helping to counter disease and encourage recovery.

• How often should you carry out soil testing?

  Soil testing identifies nutrient deficiencies, predicts nutrient needs, and identifies toxicity issues. You can take soil samples any time of the year but not within two weeks of applying a fertilizer. The frequency can be every two or three years. On sand or new sports turf constructions, the low CEC means that initially, we recommend testing every year.

• Whats a quality fertilizer?

  A quality fertilizer flows freely, isn't wet and contains what it says on the bag. With granular fertilizers, excessive dust, a lack of particle uniformity, being damp, and smearing inside the fertilizer hopper are all good indicators of poor quality or incompatible ingredients used in its manufacture. Likewise, with liquids, any residue at the bottom of the drum and filter blockages indicate issues.