Spraying for food plots?

[bowdude]

This is my first year as playing "farmer" and have to admit that I am not up on all the lingo and use of the chemicals.   A question for you guys with experience with the herbicides.  I bought some Pronto Big and Tuff.  Mixed it up 1 to 1 1/4 quart per 40.  2.5 to 3 percent.  Stuff I sprayed a week ago on a dry day and was dry the next day, no rain.  Shows nothing yet.  Just as green and healthy as everything else.  There is nothing in the packet saying a mix of 2 percent won't kill.  Yet  when you read further it talks about mixing  1 qt with anywhere from 4 to 40 !!!  Whats up here?  Do they outright lie in the percentage category?

[Stone Knife]

If pronto is like round up it will take up to two weeks to get the weeds to "dry down" then you can turn them under.

[kennym]

If its like roundup,it may be rate per acre. I spray 10 gallons per acre on field crops with about a quart of roundup in it. Others spray as much as 20 gpa with the same qt in it. Did that make any sense?

[Strutter]

Be sure and add in a surfactant when you mix it up.  The surfactant will cause the herbicide to stick to the plant and cause it to be taken down to the roots.  Most herbicides need this to work properly.  I found this out the expensive way as I bought some stuff that was 100 bucks a gallon and didn't find out I needed the surfactant til I had sprayed it all.  Needless to say, nothing died except my 100 bucks.  The surfactant costs about 10 bucks and it doesn't take much.  I found out about it when I called the chemical company and asked why my fields were still green and growing.  They then went over the process and told me the short paragraph about the surfactant was in the middle of page 93 or 94, can't remember which.  Good place to put pertinent info.  Anyway, hope this may help someone.

Rob

[Kip]

Dishwashing liquid can work as a surfactant in a pinch.Kip

[Fletcher]

Just be patient, Bowdude.  If it's like Roundup, it kills from the root up.  It takes a while for the chem to make it thru the leaves and down to the root.  Once the root dies, the tops will soon follow.  The good thing is that the weeds won't be coming back.

[bowdude]

This has the soap in it already.  And it has been more than 10 Gals per acre at more than 2.5 percent.  Guess I have just been impatient.  Thanks guys.

[Gatekeeper]

I have used the Big n Tuff before and I works just like Roundup. It takes about 10 days to start seeing results. I use the 2% mixture or 64oz of herbicide to a 25 gallon sprayer.

2% of 25 gallons = .5 or 64oz.

[Rick Perry]

use your chemical at the recommended rate per acre   ........ dont worry so much about the % thing  ......... especially for food plots you dont need to be that scientific  ........... I've never heard of Bigg n Tuff , but roundup at 1 qt/acre will do just fine whether its mixed with 10 gals of carrier(H20) or 20  ....... a little kentucky windage will tell you how many acres you can cover per tank full and just add your chemical accordingly   ........ remember consistant speed is crucial to get an accurate spray job.


FYI ........ when the weeds you are killing are 6-8 inches and less you can get by with 1 to 1 1/2 pints of R-UP  ........ save yourselves some money