Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Effects of atrazine

Daver

PMA Member
I had attempted to plant milo again this year and had done everything right, etc, but the rains just kept coming until I think the plantings were all but drowned out. (Note - I had have very good success with milo in super dry years, but anything on the "wet side" seems to be the death knell for it.)

So, I have a couple of places that were planted to milo AND that atrazine was applied on. I would like to try to salvage these areas on behalf of my friends Mr. Quail and Mr. Pheasant.

I got a bag of buckwheat the other day with the idea that I would plant it in these failed milo patches. But, I am curious if the atrazine that was applied there would thwart the buckwheat. It looks like it could be dry enough this weekend to plant the buckwheat, but I don't want to waste it either.

Assuming I disked the ground first, could I safely spread the buckwheat and then drag it and not be impacted by the atrazine? OR should I just plant the buckwheat elsewhere to be safe? TIA.
 
I'd disc it up if possible. I'd disc it as deep as possible to disperse and cover the atrazine. Every year I disc up my inner rows of corn that r near the woods & plant to various things. I apply 2.2 qts of atrazine (and other things like metolachlor, 2,4-d, etc) and it's just fine. Disc it up and deep and I'm fairly certain u will have minimal germination damage. My only doubts would be Unless u did something like put 4-5 qts of atrazine down or its in a bottom that drained extremely poorly. But even in the bottoms with all that moisture- I think it dissolved most of chemical. So maybe my only worries thinking out loud would be: too much atrazine, recent spraying of atrazine or 2,4-d and that's probably about it. If those aren't the case- i think ur fine. Ur birds are going to thank u and so will I when I'm pheasant hunting out there. :)
 
Thanks Skip, I too think I should be good if I disk it well. Although the ground in question is not low ground, it is also not well drained. So it remained a bit of a pond throughout this wet summer...causing me to think that the atrazine had to have been diluted into the soil more than normal.

It was also not a heavy application of Atrazine at the time. I am going to give it a go and see what happens.
 
I still think u r fine. Look at any bottom ground that's corn that was wet all summer.... Sprayed with atrazine earlier and now is full of weeds. That chemical is gone imo, the more I think about it. Heat and water are what dissipate most herbicides so imo- rock & roll on planting.
 
I planted Corn a few years back and it's was a small plot the deer decimated it, I disked it up and planted in the brassicas and had no problem. I was to worried but it didn't effect the planting . I think you will be fine. IMO
 
Well we are going to find out, since I disked this field in question yesterday and spread buckwheat and then lightly drug it in. The ground was dry enough...finally...that I think I should be in good shape on this plot with the "save the day buckwheat" attempt.

Then, we got a good rain on it last night...perfect!
 
Top Bottom