Forefront® T & Halcyon® stewardship

Recommending Forefront® T & Halcyon®

Forefront T and Halcyon are the best solutions for controlling weeds such as docks, nettles, thistles, buttercups, dandelions and ragwort. These products should only be applied to established grassland where cattle or sheep are grazed, due to herbicide residues being carried over into grass that is utilised for zero grazing, silage, hay or haylage. The resulting manure will affect sensitive crops if used as fertiliser. 

As part of the authorisation of these products, we require that all advisors who recommend them complete the relevant stewardship training. This ensures that users receive the best advice from qualified IASIS advisers before application. 

Manure Management

• DO NOT use Forefront T on grass that will be cut for animal feed (i.e. fresh cut grass, silage, hay or haylage) as herbicide residues will carry over into the forage and unwanted growth effects can result if this manure is applied to sensitive crops like potatoes or tomatoes in a green house. The graphic shows the do’s and don’t’s.
• Applications to silage, hay and haylage fields should only be made after the final cut has been taken.
• Treated grass must not be cut for animal feed (i.e. fresh cut grass, silage, hay or haylage) in the calendar year of treatment.
• Animal feed (i.e. fresh cut grass, silage, hay or haylage) produced from the treated area in the following calendar year must stay on farm and manure from animals fed on this must stay on farm and be spread only onto agricultural grassland.

Dealing with larger weeds in newly sown leys

When seedling weeds that have gone beyond the optimal growth stage for treatment, or where particularly docks are re-establishing from root fragments rather than seed, then use ‘ground cover’ to assess the feasibility of making an application of Forefront T at the higher rate of use available for established grassland.

Established grassland is defined as having more than 90% ground cover or older than 1 year, whichever comes first.

Ragwort control

• Forefront T is particularly effective on Common ragwort ( > 90% control). Common ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) tends to be found on poorer quality pastures. It is normally a biennial plant. A rosette in its first year that in its second year sends up one or more leafy unbranched stems that usually extend to 30-90 cm high.
  
  Application timing is crucial to achieve good levels of control. It is recommended to spray Common ragwort at the rosette stage, up to but before stem extension, when it is growing actively.
  
  
•  Livestock must be kept out of the treated area until treated Ragwort has died and completely rotted down.

Re-seeding intervals

• Weed removal can lead to bare patches which may require over-seeding.
• Where over-seeding is necessary then our guidance on reseeding intervals for a range of plant species typically found in multi-species swards is shown here: