Bracken Weed Killer

Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum)is a native British fern commonly found in woodland and heath land. It is tolerant of a wide range of soils and climates and has an extensive underground network of two rhizome types which makes control difficult.

Fronds are poisonous to cattle and horses and harbour disease-carrying ticks and carry carcinogenic spores, however sheep and cattle normally avoid it.

Thick infestations of bracken can shade out all other plants

The fronds are most toxic at the newly emerged or crozier stage. The fronds become less toxic with age but it is important that bracken cut for animal bedding should have died back entirely. The rhizomes are also poisonous and are a potential hazard to pigs that may uproot them and to cattle when ploughing exposes the rhizomes.

Bracken is considered a human health hazard due to the carcinogenic spores. People who have spent the majority of their lives living around areas where bracken is growing are more at risk of getting certain cancers as a result of breathing in the carcinogenic spores. The bracken fern itself also provides a habitat favoured by sheep ticks which transmit Lymes disease which again can be an extreme risk to humans.

Effective chemical treatment of bracken can achieve a 98% control level. Failures often result from poor follow up treatments and failure of the native vegetation to recover.

ProGreen top tip: Using a blue marker dye can help you to see where you have been when controlling large areas of bracken.

The specialist choice for bracken control used to be Asulox, which was a selective weedkiller meaning it will control the bracken without killing surrounding grass. Unfortunately, this product is no longer in production.

For agricultural and amenity grassland use going forward, the selective weedkillers Thrust is best used in a tank mix to treat the bracken when it is at waist height or just below. Treat when the fronds (leaves) are at full extension and before senescence (browning of the fronds and natural die back) to ensure the best effect from the treatment.

Please see our Thrust listing for more information.

Owing to the nature of bracken growth and the difficulty of spraying sheltered or uneven terrain, 100% bracken control is rarely achieved. Any bracken surviving should be sprayed as soon as it recovers to full green frond. This may be the year following the initial application but more likely the second year following initial application. If a programme of follow-up sprays is undertaken the bracken-free period will be greatly extended. If no follow-up treatment or land improvement programme is carried out, re-spraying may be necessary within 5 years.

Please speak to a Progreen Technical Advisor for information on how to control bracken.

There are several methods of application depending on circumstances. These include, application using a knapsack sprayer, a tractor-mounted or handheld Weedwiper and a tractor or ATV mounted boom sprayer. Both Roundup Proactive 360 & Roundup Provantage have full approvals for these uses.

Application rates of Roundup Proactive 360 are 5 L/ha or 25 ml/L water and equivalent rates of Roundup Provantage are 3.75 L/ha or 19 ml/L water. It is best uesd in conjunction with an adjuvant, such as Validate.

Timings for control of Bracken control using Roundup are similar to Asulox – with spraying recommended as fronds approach full size and are fully unfurled in July/August, but before tip die-back. This window normally closes at the end of September depending on locality, altitude and season.

Treated fronds will die back within four weeks of treatment; future re-treatment may be needed. It is important that livestock are excluded from the treated area until bracken foliage has completely died back.

At ProGreen we offer a variety of different types of equipment. When it comes to applying weed control to bracken there are a few options available. To start with a knapsack sprayer can be used with RoundUp ProActive and RoundUp Provantage. A boom sprayer is also a suitable piece of equipment to apply weed control to bracken especially if it is over a larger area.

It is always important to check the product label to ensure that it has approval for knapsack or boom sprayer application. If you are unsure on what is the best method is best for you or which has approval, call us on 0330 165 5568 to speak with one of our technical advisors.