This summary applies to Victoria, except for far-east Gippsland.
Early Autumn – ground dry, warm to hot days, nights starting to get cooler, maybe occasional showers, low winds. Pastures mostly dry and short.
TACKLE MAJOR WOODY WEED INFESTATIONS- ECOBLADE
Late Autumn/Early winter -autumn rains have arrived, top soil warm and moist but subsoil still dry, not much water runoff into creeks and dams. Warm days cool nights, maybe early frost. Rain coming with south/west frontal systems with stronger winds from north to south west.
SPRAY PASTURES FOR ANNUAL WEEDS, preferably before the soils get too wet.
PLANT MOST PASTURE SPECIES
TACKLE MAJOR WOODY WEED INFESTATIONS- hand spray, ECOBLADE
Late Winter – whole soil profile is saturated, soil is cold, frosts with clear skies, pasture growth is reduced by low soil temperature and possibly water-logging in poorly drain soils.
ECOBLADE CAN STILL BE USED but is restricted by soil conditions and wet plants.
Early Spring – the whole soil profile is wet, but the top soil may be starting to dry, soil is starting to warm up so pasture growth is increasing, days are longer and warmer. Windy.
USUALLY TOO WET TO SPRAY
Late Spring – top soil drying but still wet in the subsoil, ground warmth increasing. Pasture growth reaching maximum with flowering and seed set followed by the “haying off”. Many weeds also flowering.
KILL ANNUALS & VERY YOUNG PERENNIALS BEFORE THEY SEED- handspray, boomspray, ECOBLADE
Summer – top soil moisture mostly gone, subsoil moisture reducing, pastures mostly dry, days are long, hot and dry with a few showers. Mostly northerly winds.
TACKLE MAJOR WOODY WEED INFESTATIONS- ECOBLADE
Late Summer – virtually no soil moisture, very hot and dry, northerly winds.
TACKLE MAJOR WOODY WEED INFESTATIONS- ECOBLADE (beware of extreme fire danger days and heat-stressed plants)
DIFFERENT TYPES OF WEEDS
Pastures and weeds can usually be classified as perennial or annual, perennials having a life cycle extending beyond 1 year and annuals having one completed within a year.
These classifications are important in determining when to treat different weeds. For example, gorse is a perennial and can be treated at any time of year, while thistles are annuals and need to be sprayed autumn to spring.
TIME TO TREAT WITH ECOBLADE
Spring is usually considered the best time to treat weeds, but it is often windy and the ground too wet for heavy vehicles. There may be other times when conditions are more favorable. Ground and weather conditions, as well as the growth pattern of the weed being treated need to be taken into account.
THE ECOBLADE CAN WIDEN YOUR WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR TREATING WEEDS. It can operate with ground and weather conditions which prevent other forms of treatment.