Definitions Control – prevention of spread by removing fruits and limiting vegetative spread Eradicate – to completely remove a species from a location

Subjects Approaches to control –Mechanical –Herbicides Common species

Manual and Mechanical Hand pulling -can use volunteers -good for small infestations -can have low ecological impact -need to keep equipment clean -best for annuals or shallow rooted perennials

Manual and Mechanical Tillage/hoeing Mowing, brush cutting, weed eating –Best for species that don’t coppice –“controls” – does not eradicate except through repeated use Girdling – remove cambium (do not use on coppicing species) Mulching – bark, chips, hay, hogfuel, cardboard, carpet Flooding/drawdowns Fire

Manual or Mechanical Soil solarization – clear or black plastic - kills tissue if around degrees F - soil should be moist - can reduce weed populations for more than a year - not as good for rhizomatous species

Waipuna Hot foam containing sugar extracts from corn and coconut (originally hot water/steam) – not an herbicide Expensive

Grazing Can control or encourage invasive plants Can use cattle, goats, sheep, geese, chickens, ducks, etc. Need to fence or pen them in Make take several years

Herbicides Salts used in ancient times Army Corps of Engineers, sodium arsenite ,4,D synthesized – growth regulator 1944 – 2,4,D used on broadleafs

Mechanisms - Herbicides Inhibit respiration –Arsenic compounds –Metallo-organics (also based on arsenics) –Phenols

Mechanisms - Herbicides Inhibit plant growth – hormone disruptors -absisic acid – no herbicides -cytokinens – no herbicides -Gibberellins – affects plant height, bud dormancy, seed germination – more of a growth regulator than herbicide

Mechanisms - Herbicides Hormones, cont. Ethylene – no herbicides Auxins – 2,4,D (Weed B Gone) – causes excess cell division and overgrowth, good on broadleaf weeds, non- persisting, low mammalian toxicity – BUT… 2,4,5,T – better for woody plants >> +dioxin = Agent Orange

Mechanisms - Herbicides Inhibitors of biosynthetic processes -Cell division – “pre-emergent” -Nucleic acid or protein synthesis inhibitors – “pre-emergent” -Glyphosate – non-selective contact herbicide, interrupts the shikimate pathway – amino acid production pathway not found in animals – “post- emergent”

Considerations Non-target species Use best management practices for handling concentrates Follow ALL laws Must post treated areas Carefully assess site conditions, including weather Likely cannot use volunteers

Methods of Application Foliar – spot,boom Basal bark Cut stump Injected into cambium Soil – pre-emergent

Reed Canary Grass Phalaris arundinacea Rhizomatous grass Mow 5X +/yr Mulches (+ cardboard) Glyphosate (2%) Shading with plantings

English Ivy Hedera helix Fast-growing ground cover Remove vertical vines first Pull and wad vines on ground Can use string trimmer followed by glyphosate or triclopyr

Japanese Knotweed Fallopia japonica Strongly rhizomatous shrub Very hard to kill 2X/month mowing for 3 years Injection – 5 ml of 100% glyphosate Triclopyr or glyphosate

Himalayan blackberry Rubus armeniacus Repeated mowing Digging Cut stump, treat with triclopyr or triclopyr + 2,4 - D