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Imox Herbicide

Stressless

Active Member
2,167
85
Keene, OH
Three weeks from application. This one has application day 2 May and Sunday the 24th...
IMAG0079-100-79.jpg


It's def working - many pics of them browsing in the plots, some yellowing nad some dead, gonna get on the ground later next week to do a walkthru. it looks like the cerial rye is still trying to bolt but being inhibited.. It hasn't been cut since last Sep.
IMAG0233-100-233.jpg


Bonus is the first fawn pic of 2020...
IMAG0229-100-229.jpg
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,167
85
Keene, OH
30 day IMOX results, cereal rye although weakened seems to have come thru, clover and birdsfoot trifoil is growing strong thru the stunted and dying grasses.

View attachment 102603

First day:
IMAG0029-100-29.jpg


Day 15:
IMAG0145-100-145.jpg


Day 30:
IMAG0317-100-317.jpg


Neighbor, we put this down together on his and mine, is walking the plots today to review results and make an assessment.
 
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We made a quick trip to camp to pick up the kayaks and get the porch furniture from down there for my daughters graduation party. It was 11 days I think since I sprayed and you could see it was working. Like typical with imox it is very slow to see the results, but it does work. Saw alot of clover peaking thru the ground as well. Didn't take any pics.
 
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Henry III

Member
24
15
Bath
The short answer is no. I can give you a bit of perspective though.. 18 months ago this was a grown up clear cut. We brush hogged and dozed. Last spring buckwheat, oats and peas were planted. 3 ton/acre of lime was put down. August 1st it was burned down and I no tilled oats as a nurse with the alfalfa chicory mix. 300 lbs/acre of 0-0-60 was put down in December. Pellet lime 700lbs/acre was put down February. First spray of Imox 4/22. Ammonium sulfate was spread 5/1 50 lbs/acre.
5/24 I put down 24-0-05 at 250 lbs/acre. And that brings me to my first cutting before the picture 6/12.
The Imox completely terminated the oats and most everything else. This is my first time food plotting and growing alfalfa. It’s been a lot of work..but I must say the deer love it, as I found 9 sheds in 3 acres.
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,167
85
Keene, OH
Working up the plot plan for 2021 so I did some Duck-Duck-Go'ing on IMOX, application rates and such. I've developed an aversion to using Google.

This thread comes up consistently in the search engines for IMOX/Raptor Food Plots so I'm going to tag onto it with a condensed "What I've found, did and gonna do".

IMOX and Raptor Herbicides have the exact same active ingredient and %. Links to labels below. The Raptor label is BY FAR the more thorough

From the Raptor label: ammonium salt of imazamox: 12.1%
From IMOX label: ammonium salt of imazamox 12.1%

The local herbicide peddler dude gave some bad advice last year in that IMOX should be applied with the "Most" water per acre, same # of surfactant and ounces or herbicide/acre but told us to apply as heavy as the equipment could with respect to gallons of water/acre. In essence diluting the v/v% of the herbicide mixture for better coverage. In reviewing the fields we sprayed in 2020 I was not overly impressed - It killed weeds, It didn't hurt the crops but the actual results were not up to par set by other reviews. We're going to use IMOX again on the perennial plots but change a couple variables and see if the outcome is better.

To simplify, or for folks like me that are visual learners, we're going into the statement "Gallons applied per acre". The first chart below is my boom sprayer application rate sheet with the settings as applied in 2020.

All the variables that we used in 2020 are Circled in BLUE.
The nozzle(s) Tip, combined with the Pressure (40psi), Speed(3mph) gives us the amount of liquid the boom puts out in Gallons Per Acre(GPA). In last years application that was 19.8GPA so when mixing the IMOX last year we added the surfactant # (ammonium sulfate) and IMOX at 5.25oz(4oz-6oz/acre recommended per the label) to every 19.8 gallons of water we put in the sprayer.
2020 spray.JPG

Raptor label states:
Ground Application
Uniformly apply with properly calibrated ground equipment in 10 or more gallons of water per acre.
Also

A spray pressure of 20 to 40 PSI is recommended.To ensure thorough coverage, use a minimum of 20 gallons of water per acre when applying Raptor to minimum-till or no-till crops. Use higher gallonage for fields with dense vegetation or heavy crop residue.

Both labels recommend Larger Droplet size to increase herbicide efficiency, to achieve that look up your sprayer info, for mine that's done via reduced pressure at the nozzle. So this year I'll drop the pressure by 25% (40psi -> 30psi) increase the ATV speed by 66% (3mph -> 5mph) which will put my liquid application rate (GPA) at 10.1. If I keep the IMOX oz/acre the same that means I'll mix the 5.25oz IMOX and surfactant # with 10.1 gallons of water. In my 25gal tank I can now(2021 settings) do 2.5 acres in less than 1/2 the time I did 1.2 acres(2020 settings). Also means much fewer tank loads to complete ~10 acres of plots.

2021 spray.JPG


With the herbicide v/v% roughly increased by 50%. Achieved by mixing the same 5.25oz of IMOX per 10.1 gallons rather than 19.8 gallons, and the droplet size increased (reducing the psi from 40 to 30) We should get a better hit on the targeted plants.

One of the best things with this method is once mixed in your tank appropriately - you just go spray whatever sized plots you want maintaining, in my case, the settings, 30psi and 5mph - the application rate of IMOX will cover whatever area you go over at the correct V/V%

An interesting artifact in this experimentation is the hardest variable to control is speed with my ATV, last year trying to creep at 3mph was a PITA. Below 3mph it didn't register on the gauge and slipping up to 4mph even 5mph happened for short intervals.

The point is with lesser pressure and faster application speed my error factors go way down. If I go off the planned 2021 SPEED of 5mph by 1 mph, the differences in application errors are reduced by a significant factor An example.

in 2020 with the settings i had, if I went below my target of 3mph by 1 MPH the error (overspraying) went up by 50% (that's a huge error)
2020 spray error.JPG


in 2021 with the new setting and same error - dropping 1 MPH below the target speed (overspraying) the application error only goes up by 25%.
2021 spray error.JPG


If you've followed along this far thank you - because this is actually the important point, by reviewing your settings and adjusting your equipment you can make a huge improvement in the efficiency and that should equate to a effectiveness increase.

The difference in reducing a 50% error to a 25% error is a 50% decrease in spraying error with just one variable, one variable I know was hard to control.

The key points applying ammonium salt of imazamox:
  • 10 or more GPA of water on most plots, 20 or more GPA of water on minimum-till or no-till crops
  • Larger droplet size is recommended
  • A spray pressure of 20 to 40 PSI is recommended
  • An adjuvant (either surfactant OR crop oil concentrate) AND nitrogen fertilizer MUST be added to the spray solution for optimum weed control
  • Apply to early post emergence when weeds are actively growing and before they exceed a height of 3 inches, (read the linked PDF's above for your crop)
  • Apply a minimum of 1 hour before rainfall or overhead irrigation
  • Add the oz of IMOX you desire (4-6oz per the label) to the gallons per acre (GPA) defined by your sprayers nozzle(s), PSI, and speed of application.
  • Reduce the fluctuation in the variable you have the least control over as much as possible for the greatest reduction in application rate error.
 
And to think all this time I just put water in a tank, dumped in some herbicide, and rode my quad in circles until my tank was empty. 🤔

LOL. I was thinking the same thing. I usually put in what is required and then give it a bit more for good measure.

One thing with Imox is that it works best when putting on emerging plants, so earlier in the spring is better.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,862
260
My wife started doing the books and other business stuff for a large vegitation management company here. They use this stuff that takes 4oz to make 100 gallons. Sounds powerful but the MDS doesn't even require gloves or glasses. I'll find out what its called.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,923
274
Appalachia
I'm glad @Stressless shared this thorough and in-depth review from those that care to take their herbicide application to the next level. My comment wasn't made in gest so much as to convey the message that you can still get the job done by "redneckin" it. I was intimidated by the idea of perennial plantings due to the maintenance aspect, mainly herbicide application, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to feel that way. Sure, you can always be more efficient as Stressless pointed out, but you shouldn't be intimidated by the task. Read the bottle, mix it accordingly, and get after it. Where a mask and monitor the wind direction. When it doubt, mix/spray heavy is my method.