weed control--anyone use a weedwiper for herbicide application?

[greybeard]

I mow spring, midsummer and fall, but I have a bunch of perineals and woody intrusives that mowing won't control or irradicate, so I am stuck with using herbicides to prevent my pasture from being taken over completely. A weed wiper supposedly just "wipes" the herbicide on the taller growth, saving on herbicide costs and not getting the chemical on much of the good forage at all. I've never seen one, much less used one, and evidently, no one in this region is familar with them either--I've asked plenty.
Amyone here with weed wiper/weed wick experience?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I haven't personally used one but one farm where I used to work recently (about 2 summers ago) got one. They seem to like it so far.

 

[jhm47]

I've used one on soybeans years ago. It worked OK, but since the advent of RR beans, we don't use it any longer. don't know how it would work in a pasture, but I suspect it would not get enough herbicide on the plants to kill them. I spray my pastures with a chemical called Forefront. It works very well, and lasts 2 years. I bought a boomless sprayer to mount on my ATV, and can get into places that never were sprayed before. It sprays a 30' swath, and works very well. Forefront is safe, doesn't require any withdrawal time, and kills only broadleaf weeds (thistles, sage, vines, etc.). This is what works well for me.

 

[greybeard]

Mostly I need to control pigweed, and a regional scourge called Chinese Tallow, which is actually an invasive tree. The pigweed is controllable using any of the Glyphosates (Roundup clones) and followed with Banvel--adhereing of course to the restrictions regarding keeping livestock off of it especially lactating animals. My problem with spraying it is that my pastures are pretty well distressed right now due to long term drought which has resulted in over grazing. The Bahia is drought resistant but being in poor condidtion means the herbicide adversely affects it more than it normally would. Wiping, would apply the herbicide (supposedly) to just the taller pigweed and tallow, tho the aforementioned chemicals won't take out the tallow anyway. I'll have to hit it next spring summer with something more potent--Grazon, Crossbow, or Remedy Ultra. Each has it's own downside as far as grazing restrictions go, but if I don't get the tallow under control, I won't have a pasture at all. One little root piece left in the ground and it comes right back, not to mention that the mature trees drop thousands and thousands of seed each year. Been cutting all those down and hand painting/spraying the stumps with a chemical herbicide "cocktail" of Remedy and Toradon. At least this way I can eliminate the seed part of the problem, tho there are already likely millions of seeds on and in the ground from the past growing years.
I have boom tank sprayers for both the tactor and a boomless 25 gal on an ATV which I use mostly for fenceline maintenance. Up until 2006, this property was forest, and I cleared much of it off and turned it into pasture. The forest wants the land back--plain and simple and I'm determined not to let it have it.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

The farm I mentioned uses it in pasture, after grazing. The cows graze down the grasses and leave the weeds (mainly chicory and pigweed). They don't want to spray a broadleaf since there's a good amount of clover in the fields. If they go slowly enough then enough herbicide gets on the taller plants (weeds) and leaves the rest alone.