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With around 50 per cent of all newly sown leys in the UK now thought to contain clover, growers are being reminded that a key tool for the successful establishment of clover leys.

Simon Francis, commercial technical manager at FMC, says an increasing number of farmers are now wanting to establish nitrogen-fixing clover leys as a result of rising fertiliser costs, but weeds can put significant pressure on these leys.

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Annual weeds like chickweed are competitive and can smother grass leys, particularly those containing clover, which can make it difficult for the crop to establish in its first year.Ìý

Therefore, it is important for growers to control those weeds that compete strongly with establishing clover leys with an herbicide that is ‘clover-safe', says Mr Francis.

He says: "Triad SX [tribenuron-methyl] is a herbicide that comes as a granular product, formulated with SXÌýtechnology, which makes it easy to use and allows a reduced wash out of the spray tank compared to the previous tablet formulation.

"With an application period between March 1 and October 31, if growers need to make their grassland herbicide application this autumn, it's important they get them applied soon.Ìý

As with all clover ‘safe' products, Mr Francis explains that it is important to check the growth stage of clover in the sward following the application of herbicide.

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"This will help growers to effectively control a range of problematic annual weeds, allowing them to get the grass off to a good start and helping strong sward development to suppress further weed growth," he says.ÌýÌý