Agronomically valuable and stable plant populations are only possible if usage and fertilisation intensity are in harmony with the site. The prevention of serious weed problems is thus based above all on appropriate management.
In plant populations with a high proportion of weeds the reasons for the weed infestation must first be remedied before weed control can result in long-term improvement of the sward. Once low-value grasses, weeds or poisonous plants have spread in a meadow, controlling them is difficult and very time-consuming. This is especially true on organic farms, which are not allowed to use any herbicides.
We are therefore developing new strategies for the direct and indirect control of selected weeds and poisonous plants in meadows and pastures:
- Broad-leaved dock – Rumex obtusifolius
- Creeping bent – Agrostis stolonifera
- Marsh ragwort and common ragwort – Senecio aquaticus und jacobaea
- Stolon stonecrop – Phedimus stoloniferus
Water voles can also cause major periodic damage on forage-production
sites, thereby putting the swards at risk:
