The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) in conjunction with Northern Ireland Water (NI Water), are holding an on-farm rush control event on Wednesday 30 August on George McCall’s farm, 98 Seagahan, Collone, Co Armagh, BT60 2BJ.
There will be directional signs in place on the day. There will be an afternoon session commencing at 2:30pm and an evening session commencing at 7:00pm.
CAFRE Biodiversity Technologist Robert Beggs said: "Whilst some rush in a field can provide shelter for young lambs and provide cover for ground nesting birds and hares, dense infestations reduce output and make the area inaccessible for both livestock and wildlife.”
Standard treatments for rush with MCPA can have negative effects on water quality which are costly to remedy when the water is extracted and treated before entering the drinking water system.
CAFRE has been conducting rush control demonstrations based on methods to reduce the impact on water quality. The results of different rush control treatments carried out in June will be viewed in one field on the farm, with a particular emphasis on the benefits of weed wiping with glyphosate versus boom spraying with MCPA.
NI Water staff will discuss water quality of the Seagahan catchment and the treatment process at the drinking water extraction plant. Staff will also speak about the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods of rush control, the effect of these on raw water quality and the impact on the costs of treatment to ensure good quality drinking water.
To attend, please pre-register by visiting the events section of the CAFRE website at: www.cafre.ac.uk/events/
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