Cutting Down Weeds And Tall Grasses

[Lickey]

Recently after some good rain, the weeds have really started to grow in the tamarind orchard, my favourite is the big seedless spear grass, ive been pulling these up and throwing under the trees, im sure its full of N and good for the tree, Today i went to the farm to find 4 blokes with strimmers, they have cut the lot down, about 15rai, so no more N just now, i asked the Mrs why did she tell them to do this? she says, long grass and weeds will habour and promote insects that are bad for the newly fruiting tamarind, personally, i dont know if this is right, but once the weeds ect grow again, i will ask labour to pull out all the spear grass first and put under the trees,then strim as ness,

My original intention was to leave the orchard alone, just pull the grass and feed the trees, picking time is mid January, by that time, all grass ect is dead anyway,

So the question is, would leaving the grass and weeds unatended promote bad insects ect and effect the trees?

TIA, Lickey.

[soidog2]

Recently after some good rain, the weeds have really started to grow in the tamarind orchard, my favourite is the big seedless spear grass, ive been pulling these up and throwing under the trees, im sure its full of N and good for the tree, Today i went to the farm to find 4 blokes with strimmers, they have cut the lot down, about 15rai, so no more N just now, i asked the Mrs why did she tell them to do this? she says, long grass and weeds will habour and promote insects that are bad for the newly fruiting tamarind, personally, i dont know if this is right, but once the weeds ect grow again, i will ask labour to pull out all the spear grass first and put under the trees,then strim as ness,

My original intention was to leave the orchard alone, just pull the grass and feed the trees, picking time is mid January, by that time, all grass ect is dead anyway,

So the question is, would leaving the grass and weeds unatended promote bad insects ect and effect the trees?

TIA, Lickey.

I am in the middle of doing the same thing in my mango farm ( about 300 trees )

The grass and weeds ;at first look kind of idyllic , they give a nice rural look . The problem: they never stop growing!

In places they are up over my shoulder impassable on foot.

I finally had to breakdown and use the tractor with a brush cutter . In one spot , very sadly , one beautiful, rather large python was sleeping and it killed it .

I could have walked right on top of it a million times , never would have noticed it.

Yes the other half is right , unattended grass and weeds promote all kind of unwanted guests, in addition throwing grass around tree trunks in the rainy seson promotes fungus and other nasty things.

The nitrogen benefit from decaying grass is negligible

Best !

[Pond Life]

I dont know about nitrogen content,

but putting cut grass etc around the tree's does help keep the weeds down.

Keep the grass/mulch a couple of inches or more away from the trunk to prevent mold.

[jandtaa]

Hi Lickey

Incredible how fast the weeds grow out here !! I guess it would provide a sanctuary for insect pests and possibly any beneficials. In the UK I have a problem with flea beetle whose larvae over winter in weedy areas, as we get on top of the plot ( 7 years  and still reclaiming areas and putting them into production) and clear away the weeds the problem is diminishing. I think observation is the key, find out what pests affect your trees, identify if you have a problem with them. Research their life cycle, preferred habitat etc find out if they have natural predators (plant up small areas  to attract these if possible), are repelled by certain plants  and so on. Prevention is the best cure !! 

Maybe DrTreelove can help us out on this one  ??

cheers for now J

[Pierrot]

I never did that before so I'm not sure it's going to work

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/post-a86973-.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/post-a86974-.html

Above (?) are the picture of our lawnmower and the result.

We use this "machine" because we have a land about the same size as Lickey. We need to cut the grass on a regular basis, a shoulder held brush cutter would be too tiring and to hire a tractor (we don't own one) too expensive. We try to maintain the grass between 5 to 15 cm high, actually mostly for aesthetic reasons but also because I don't want the soil to be too exposed to the wind and the rain. But I never thought about the bugs, so I'm not sure it's the right solution. Any advise is welcomed.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Pierrot

[billd766]

I have been working away for a year and this is outside the front garden after 6 months.

The first one is what it looked like and the other one took me nearly 4 hours to cut a path to the water and electricty meters with a petrol strimmer.

I could get somebody to do it for me but I am now retired and it beats sitting around drinking beer and being on the internet all day.

[Lickey]

Thanks for your thoughts and posts everybody,

From what i understand there is a certain beetle that bores into the tamarind pod and renders it un-edible, mrs thinks these thrive in long grass, and will create a problem to next years crop, so i have to go along with her and just cut the grass and weeds down,

The idea behind pulling up the grass and putting it under the trees is to give a little N and with the soil on the clump of grass, build up some good mix for the salad beds,

After the leaves fall, scrape up the soil and leaves ect, im sure it will make a good organic salad bed, Nothing much grows under a tamarind tree, so giving weeds wont promote any other growth,

This is the first year that the whole 40rai hasnt been sprayed with weedkiller chems ect, and it does look [and smells] good, last year on the farm [hillside] heavy rain took its toll with soil erosion, [Pierrot] good post, the weed roots are holding the soil together better this year,

Jandtaa, when i find out what this boorer beetle is, i will search the pinned topics on the best way to treat it,

Thanks all, Lickey,,

[jandtaa]

In Thailand, the following insect species have been recorded feeding on seed/pod of tamarind, not differentiated between regular and sour or sweet tamarind:                                                

Caryodon serratus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) - seed boring grub

Cryptophlebia ombrodelta Lower (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) - pod borer

Pachymerus gonager (gonagra?) F. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) - seed boring grub

Sinoxylon crassumum Lesne (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) - pod boring grub

Sitophilus (Calandra) linearis (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Something to help in your research Lickey (maybe a google image search I find this helpful when getting the missus to help me identify plants and insects etc.)

J

[drtreelove]

Hi Lickey

Incredible how fast the weeds grow out here !! I guess it would provide a sanctuary for insect pests and possibly any beneficials. In the UK I have a problem with flea beetle whose larvae over winter in weedy areas, as we get on top of the plot ( 7 years and still reclaiming areas and putting them into production) and clear away the weeds the problem is diminishing. I think observation is the key, find out what pests affect your trees, identify if you have a problem with them. Research their life cycle, preferred habitat etc find out if they have natural predators (plant up small areas to attract these if possible), are repelled by certain plants and so on. Prevention is the best cure !!

Maybe DrTreelove can help us out on this one ??

cheers for now J

Sorry I didn't notice this one; I haven't had much time for TV forums lately.

The main reason that I know to cut the weeds, especially grasses, is that they suck so much soil nitrogen and take it away from the trees. Try to cut before the weeds go to seed. Leaving it lay after cutting produces mulch with all it's well known benefits. In an orchard it's better not to roto-till as you disturb the fine absorbing roots of the trees just under the soil surface.

As for the pests in the grasses, I sure don't know the specifics, if I wanted to get into it I would just have to study each known pest and it's preferred habitat and life cycle and like Jandtaa also suggests, pest predators, beneficials will also harbor in the weeds. But it's a non-issue for me because I'm always going to recommend cutting the grasses to reduce soil nitrogen depletion. We lose enough with the leaching rains.

don