Grumpy

What species of conifer are they? In general drought would lead to an overall browning of the foliage, not defined patches.  The same would be true of  wind burn although this would more generally be seen on the tips and edges of needles. The problem could be a leaf miner or a fungal attack. For both you should be able to find a propriatory treatment in the shops. Grumpy

Many terrassment companies are looking for sites to dump "terre vegetale" especially if there are no new build "lottisments" going up nearby.  You should be able to find companies in your Pages Jaune. Usually the soil will be free but typically you will pay €10/tonne for delivery, cash in hand. Still agood deal.  Make sure you get soil "sans argile" (without clay) or you'll spend many happy hours trying to either break it down or prise apart claggy lumps! Grumpy

Oh dear, bash leylandii time again.  There's nothing wrong with the tree that a sensible owner can't control.  Grown as a single tree it has a beautiful shape, can have an interestin variety of colours, is great for nesting birds with its dense foliage and tight branching and the cracky bark is good for insects and provides colour all year round. As an "instant hedge" it is good provided you the owner of the hedge look after it as necessary because being a hybrid it grown fast (which is why people want it) which means you must trim it regularly as it can grow at 2m a year! Grumpy

Getting back to chainsaws................Husqvarna and Sthil are internationally recognised as the best saws. There are differing qualities if saw however. If you buy (and pay for) the pro saws you will get a robust and powerfull saw whereas the amateur or hobby saw will perform less well. I have two "Huskies" that are over 20 years old and perform well and a new Sthil that knocks both int a cocked hat having more power and a faster cutting speed (same cc). The shorter the blade and chain the faster and more efficient the cutting as the engine has less chain to pull.  As long as the chain is sharp the cutting speed will keep it sharp but as soon as it starts to blunten it will go off more quickly. Personally I prefer Oregon chain but that's just me.  Remember that a 13" blade can cut a log 26" diameter and fell a tree of 2.5 times its length so a 16" chain will cope with most domestic requirements. Happy cutting. Grumpy

It breaks down int its constituent parts which may persist but not as an active weed killer.  We used it for 30 years in the Forestry Commission and I've used it for many years at home.  Weeds will grow back in the treated area when new seed germinates so there can't be any active long term persistance and no build up either.  From the sound of the original posting on this thread the pattern of damage doesn't fit with persistance of this herbicide but rather of spray drift. Grumpy

Roundup (active ingredient Glyphosate) is a translocated herbicide that kills the roots of the treated weed species.  The constituent parts break down on contact with the soil after 5 days so it is extremely unlikely that this herbicide is your problem. There are other herbicides that persist much longer or another possibility is that spray drift on the day of spraying may have affected your plants. As for grazing it is generally safe to graze after 5 days if using a low dose of Roudup to susceptable weeds or 10 days for tougher weeds. Grumpy