I've used flame weeders in several
capacities, including under apples. It's a slow process and
potentially dangerous as the cambium of high density rootstocks is
VERY sensitive to even brief instances of high heat. I managed to
damage and even kill a few 3-4 year old M9's when dry grasses
ignited too close to the trunk. On older trees or larger
rootstocks it might not be a problem, but use with extreme caution
around trunks. Unless you're certified organic, I would go with
tree guards (white latex paint once they outgrow the guards) and
sprays of gramoxone plus solicam by tractor boom, if you
understand the caution required when using gramoxone. Glyphosate
with a hand wand would be as slow as the flame weeder but much
longer lasting, but then you need to watch for sucker contact,
especially on Bud 9. I personally wouldn't consider the drive by
weed dragon unless I was organic and had no other options. Axxe is
an OMRI certified version of Scythe, which can be fairly effective
as a burndown agent if applied late morning on a hot, sunny day.
It's labeled for root suckers as well.Brian Heatherington Beech Creek Farms and Orchards 2011 Georgia Highway 120 Tallapoosa, GA 30176 On 6/1/2015 9:21 PM, Matt Pellerin wrote:
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