2 4 D mixing

[Keith Molden]

This may sound completely stupid, but up to and including last year a good friend of mine that had his applicators license would do any spraying I needed done. I know I don't need a license and I've read the folder on the jug, but for the life of me I cannot find how much 2 4 D to mix with60 gal. of water. I need to spray down about a quarter acre of Canadian thistle that is about a foot high. I want to spray probably an acre just to make sure to cover the area wide enough to get most of it then spray again this fall after haying. This is in a hayfield so the reason for 2 4 D. No clover to mention just mostly orchard grass. This is fairly new to me and I can't ask him because we lost him last year. Darn it loosing old friends is awfully hard isn't it. Thanks in advance guys. Keith

 

[Scott 730]

60 gallons per acre is an unusually high amount of water. What kind of tips do you have? There are tip charts where you put in spray pressure and travel speed to calculate GPA.

I spray at about 12 GPA with the tips I use.

 

[Keith Molden]

60 gallons per acre is an unusually high amount of water. What kind of tips do you have? There are tip charts where you put in spray pressure and travel speed to calculate GPA.

I spray at about 12 GPA with the tips I use.

I probably will not use it all on that field but I need to probably use that much as there are some other fields I need to spot spray some in . The mixture is what I'm really needing. I don't want to put too little mixture on nor do I want to overkill a whole bunch. It's about 3 miles over there and I have hay ground on 3 farms on that road so I figure I will spot spray all of them as needed. They are all pretty small fields (that's about what we have here in S.E. Ohio a 10 acre field is huge around here in these hills)

 

[Tgrasher]

I usually put 2 ounces per gallon.

 

[Janicholson]

I usually put 2 ounces per gallon.

Agree 2oz per gallon. Do not richen the mix. If it starts to grow crooked, hit it again. Jim

 

[69stang]

I mix 1 to 1 1/2 pints to the acre of 2 4 D for general spraying. Canadian thistles I like to use Curtail.

 

[NoDakInMN]

I probably will not use it all on that field but I need to probably use that much as there are some other fields I need to spot spray some in . The mixture is what I'm really needing. I don't want to put too little mixture on nor do I want to overkill a whole bunch. It's about 3 miles over there and I have hay ground on 3 farms on that road so I figure I will spot spray all of them as needed. They are all pretty small fields (that's about what we have here in S.E. Ohio a 10 acre field is huge around here in these hills)

You need to know what nozzles you have, the pressure, then the size of the sprayer and its speed so you can determine how many gallons of fluid you are putting on per acre and then mix accordingly. So, for example, if your sprayer puts out 5 gallons per acre at X speed and X pressure, and holds 60 gallons, that will cover 12 acres. Then if your application rate is 1 pint per acre, then you mix in 12 pints or 1.5 gallons of 2-4-D to the 60 gallons. But if your nozzles deliver 10 gallons per acre at X speed and X pressure, then 60 gallons only will cover 6 acres, so then you would only mix in 6 pints to 60 gallons for a 1 pint per acre application.

Now if you put in 2 oz per gallon, that would be 7.5 pints per 60 gallons, and if your sprayer delivers the 5 gallons per acre we first talked about, then you are only putting on .62 pints per acre, over a third less than the desired pint per acre. Now depending on that, 2oz per gallon most likely will not be too strong, but depending on your sprayer set up, it might not be strong enough to do anything but waste your time.

So, there is no magic mix, it all depends on what your sprayer is set up to do.

 

[crsutton81]

This may sound completely stupid, but up to and including last year a good friend of mine that had his applicators license would do any spraying I needed done. I know I don't need a license and I've read the folder on the jug, but for the life of me I cannot find how much 2 4 D to mix with60 gal. of water. I need to spray down about a quarter acre of Canadian thistle that is about a foot high. I want to spray probably an acre just to make sure to cover the area wide enough to get most of it then spray again this fall after haying. This is in a hayfield so the reason for 2 4 D. No clover to mention just mostly orchard grass. This is fairly new to me and I can't ask him because we lost him last year. Darn it loosing old friends is awfully hard isn't it. Thanks in advance guys. Keith

1 pint per acre is the rate for 2 4 D. You need to know how your sprayer is calibrated as far as tip size, spacing, psi, and mph speed to determine how many gallons per acre a tank full mixture will cover to determine how much chemical to mix into the tank.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

as alluded to above 24d will have a hard time controlling that particular weed and is even said in the latest lv6 label to only partially control it however it’s one of the things it’s most commonly used for.

Check your own label but this is what mine states for pasture rangeland 2.66 pt per acre is the max and I’d say you want the max

So .665 pint or almost 11 oz Is what you need total in the tank. This is regardless the amount of water

We did do stuff at that high rate 50 to 60 of water but it was taller than my terragator in crp mostly was so i could travel slower with the big machine and have a fighting chance to see trees and stuff that was down in it but also to get good coverage not saying it wouldn’t work but 30 an acre most farmers would consider incredibly excessive in 24d although a few will notice some soybean insecticide instructions on their labels referencing spider mites and ask some 30 to 40 gallon per acre related questions.

Personally I do 20 gpa on about everything I’m someone who likes plenty water. I don’t often add a wetting agent or crop oil. I won’t go much below that although 24d is one of the things that is what people will argue for the low rates on to reduce drift and keep the pressures low. Always 40psi or below reduce your travel speed if you have to. I don’t mix my product for the ease of fitting it on a sprayer I’ll make another trip. It’s spraying I have all summer the crop is in.

For spot spraying I believe you can add a second dose similar to the first to what you have left and be about right when you are done with the main area but again check your specific label if you can’t read it anymore they are online and there are a few differences there is an lv4 at least in the brand I use

Most importantly Sorry about your friend

 

[wp6529]

You might consider getting an applicator license, even if not required where you are. The class / training for it largely centers on calibrating your sprayer and calculating the proper mix ratios, as well as safety topics.

 

[Keith Molden]

I usually put 2 ounces per gallon.

Thanks so much, that's what I was wanting to know. I'll mix it tomorrow and hopefully get rid of some thistles.

You might consider getting an applicator license, even if not required where you are. The class / training for it largely centers on calibrating your sprayer and calculating the proper mix ratios, as well as safety topics.

This will probably be my last year farming at all unless I can get to feeling better. Thinking seriously about having an auction and selling everything, but then I wonder what I would do without the hay and I don't like to travel all that much. Time will tell

 

[Texasmark]

I usually put 2 ounces per gallon.

Me too and I like to use a Surfectant (soap) too as it enhances the ability of the product to be taken up in the plant. There is a commercial 80/20 branded product out there, reasonably priced, that uses that ratio of 24D to soap amounts in addition to the 2 oz per gallon of 24D then the additional amount of added soap. I have used regular dish soap....some actually specifying that the contents are a surfectant. One thing I like about 24D is that its lasting and leaves your grass alone. The thing I dislike about it is that it can attack clover if you rely on clover to enrich your N. in the field. I have had horrible weed-cocklebur-sun flower and what have you infestations on different fields and one application of the above and they are gone period. Then over the years, especially with fertilizer, the clover will return....button, yellow and white in my case.

My sprayer is the single spiggot which covers about 15' or so on each side of the 100 gallon tank and at 20# of pressure on my adjustable filter/pressure regulator covers 3 or so acres. I like it over boom type sprayers as I can move around fences and other obstructions without worrying about crashing your booms into something....which was the case when I rented a sprayer before I bought my own.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

Our county has a rental broad jet pasture sprayer that I use. It puts out about 40 gallons per acre (gpa). We (neighbors and I) generally put 1 qt of 2 4d to the acre. Weeds are way easier to control when they are small. Our reasoning is 2 4d is cheap, and I believe that is the maximum amount recommended. When you spray weaker doses, the target weed tends to become resistant to the chemical.
All that being said, you need a different chemical instead of 2 4d. 2 4d has poor rating against Candian thistle, and a better choice is GrazonNext, or something similar, DuraCor or Chaparrel, which has good rating against Canadian thistle. The university of KY has a weed response chart, available of my local extension office, that I use to see what chemical works best against specific weeds, and what month to spray. Talk to your local extension office-they are there to help, and you are entitled as a taxpayer to receive that help. And in my experience, they like to help.
So. like everyone said, first, you need to find the water spray rate per acre at a set speed, and mix accordingly. Mark.

 

[Keith Molden]

I ended up just putting 15 gaL on the thistle area and went outside the area as well just in case. I made 2 passes so I should have wetted it down pretty good. Now wait and see if it kills it or makes it grow LOL. I don't have any clover in that field just orchard grass. so I should be good I hope. Thanks again guys for all the info.

 

[JD Dave]

CT can be a persistent problem. Hit it with a full rate of 2,4-D and plenty of surfactant. It's going to take 2-3 weeks to start to see control. If it aggravates you toward Fall, hit it with 2% Roundup (plenty of surfactact) in September or October as the plant takes the poison into its roots before winter, ensuring complete control.
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[Texasmark]

I ended up just putting 15 gaL on the thistle area and went outside the area as well just in case. I made 2 passes so I should have wetted it down pretty good. Now wait and see if it kills it or makes it grow LOL. I don't have any clover in that field just orchard grass. so I should be good I hope. Thanks again guys for all the info.

The day after you spray you should see results starting to happen. The tips of the plants, primarily supported by the main stem will droop. This will continue and get worse till the weed dies and turns brown. What's happening is that the plant has started to grow faster than it can bring up nutrients in the soil and it starves to death......I don't have CT so I can't offer an opinion on that weed.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

I ended up just putting 15 gaL on the thistle area and went outside the area as well just in case. I made 2 passes so I should have wetted it down pretty good. Now wait and see if it kills it or makes it grow LOL. I don't have any clover in that field just orchard grass. so I should be good I hope. Thanks again guys for all the info.

2 4d has a poor rating against Canadian thistle, so I doubt you will see much effect against it. DuraCor and GrazonNext are rated good against CT and Chaparral also is good against CT, but Chaparral may stunt grass, especially tall fescue. Spray times are prebud(now), or Oct-Nov. Let us know your results, Mark.

 

[buickanddeere]

Don’t let the mixed spray and in particular the concentrate touch your skin .

 

[Scott 730]

2 4d has a poor rating against Canadian thistle, so I doubt you will see much effect against it.

The only way I have seen good results on CT is to spot spray individual plants repeatedly over the summer and fall. I thankfully do not really have thick patches of them.

 

[T in NE]

This may sound completely stupid, but up to and including last year a good friend of mine that had his applicators license would do any spraying I needed done. I know I don't need a license and I've read the folder on the jug, but for the life of me I cannot find how much 2 4 D to mix with60 gal. of water. I need to spray down about a quarter acre of Canadian thistle that is about a foot high. I want to spray probably an acre just to make sure to cover the area wide enough to get most of it then spray again this fall after haying. This is in a hayfield so the reason for 2 4 D. No clover to mention just mostly orchard grass. This is fairly new to me and I can't ask him because we lost him last year. Darn it loosing old friends is awfully hard isn't it. Thanks in advance guys. Keith

We ran about a quart of Hired Hand to a 15 gallon atv sprayer, and spot sprayed, for the most part.
Add a pint of surfactant to end some cedars, but you have to soak the whole tree.