Lesson Structure: Weed Control BHT209

There are 7 lessons:

1  Weed Identification:

• Introduction
• Plant Taxonomy: Botanical/Horticultural Nomenclature, The Binomial System, Botanical Classification, Plant Families and Species, Hybrids, Varieties and Cultivars
• Some Common Groups of Weeds: Grasses, Onion Family Weeds, Daisy Weeds, Thistles, Cabbage Family, Pea Family (Fabaceae)
• Characteristics of Selected Common Weeds – A – Z
• Resource Guide: Reference Books, Organisations, Government Departments, Garden Clubs, Farmers Groups and ‘Friends of’ Groups, Magazines and Journals, Commercial Businesses/ Companies, Online Resources
• Set Reading

2  Weed Control Methods:

• Weed Control: Steps in Controlling Weeds, Ways to Control Weeds, Grazing
• Types of Weed Problems: Fence lines and Borders, Weeds at the Base of Trees, Weeds in Garden Beds, Weeds in Hard Surfaced Areas, Plants That Go to Seed, Vigorous, Invasive Creepers, Suckers, Underground Rhizomes, Tubers, Bulbils and Corms, Weeds in Lawns, Poisonous Plants, Noxious Weeds, Environmental Weeds, Plants to Avoid
• Profiles of Some Common Weeds: Bamboo, Bindii, Blackberry, Bracken Fern, Capeweed, Clover, Dandelion, Dock, Gorse, Grasses, Lantana, Nettle, Oxalis, Singapore Daisy, Thistles
• Mulching: Some Popular Mulches
• Soil Treatment to Control Plant Problems: What is Controlled, Fumigants
• Physiological Effects
• Definitions of Pesticide Terms – A – Z

3  Chemical Weed Control:

• Types of Herbicide Chemicals: Aliphatics, Amides and Anilides, Benzoics, Bipyridyliums, Carbamates and Carbanilides, Dinitroanilines, Diphenyl Ethers, Nitriles, Phenoxys, Thiocarbamates, Triazines, Ureas and Uracils, Other Organic Herbicides, Inorganic Herbicides
• Comparative Toxicities
• Weedicides for the Home Garden
• Set Reading

4  Weed Control In Specific Situations:

• Weeds in Turf: Methods of Controlling Weed Problems in Turf
• Turf Weedicides (Herbicides): Dicamba, Mecoprop (Mecoprop-P: MCPP), 2,4-D, Bromoxynil, MCPA
• The Law in Relation to Chemical Use
• Commonly Used Commercial Formulations
• Weeds in Plant Nurseries: Weed Control in Greenhouses, Recommended Weedicides for Use in a Nursery

5  Safe Chemical Application:

• Safety Rules for Using Chemicals
• Safely Storing Chemicals
• Safely Mixing Chemicals
• Using Chemicals: Agitation
• Cleaning up and Disposing of Chemicals
• Basic First Aid in Relation to Chemicals
• In Event of a Pesicide Liquid Spill
• In the Event of a Powder Spill
• Keeping Records: What Information Should be Kept, Recommendation
• Your Spray Machine – Is it Good Enough?: Selection of Pump and Tank, Calibration, Constant Tractor Speed, Watch These Points
• Sprayer Maintenance and Cleaning
• The Effects of Chemicals on Humans and Animals: Acute Poisoning, Chronic Poisoning

6  Non-Chemical Weed Control:

• What Damage is Being Done to the Environment? Soil, Water, Air, Vegetation, Wildlife, Humans
• Biocontrol of Pests & Diseases: The introduction of parasites and predators, Conservation of existing natural enemies, New natural enemies can be developed, Advantages of Bio-control, Disadvantages of Bio-control

7  Developing A Major Weed Control Program:

• Problem Based Learning Project (PBL)

Learning Goals: Weed Control BHT209

• To distinguish between different types of weeds, and identify common weed species, growing in your locality.
• To explain the characteristics of different weed control methods
• To be able to explain the use of chemical herbicides to control weeds.
• To be able to specify appropriate weed control methods, for different types of situations.
• To determine appropriate techniques for the safe application of chemical herbicide in a specific situation.
• To be able to explain different non-chemical weed control methods.
• To be able to determine a detailed weed control program for a significant weed problem.

Practicals:

• Observe and consider over 100 different varieties of weeds and prepare plant review sheets for different weed plants.
• Make up a list of information resources.
• Plant, grow and observedifferent varieties of weeds.
• Make drawings of young seedlings of at least fifteen different weeds.
• Speak/interview people who have to deal with weed control in their daily life.
• Visit a nursery, garden shop or hardware store that sells herbicides to the public.
• Visit at least one supplier of herbicides for industrial and agricultural use.
• Contact larger chemical companies for leaflets on different herbicides.
• Investigate at least two workplaces where weed control programs are regularly carried out.
• Visit and inspect different sites where weeds are a problem.
• Photograph different places that have been treated with weedicides.
• Contact your local Department of Agriculture or Lands Department for researching purposes.
• Develop a 12 month guideline for an integrated weed control program for a particular site

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Excerpt From The Course

WEEDS IN TURF

As previously mentioned, weeds occur in turf when one or several of the following conditions/situations are present: environmental stress, damage by pests, poor cultural practice and heavy wear from vehicles or foot traffic. Along with this, anything else that reduces the general health and vigour of turf plants will make it easier for stronger growing weed plants to invade the turf.

Methods of Controlling Weed Problems in Turf

• Cleanliness

Stop the spread of weed seeds. Weeds can be brought in by the wind, on dirty shoes, on vehicles, in soil, in stolons, sprigs or plugs being transplanted, on tools, by animals, in manure or straw. Be mindful of these things and try to avoid bringing weed seeds into your turf areas.

• Mowing

Many weeds need to grow tall to seed. Mowing to prevent seeding will break the lifecycle on annual weeds (seed has not been set, so after plants die at the end of a season, there is no self-seeding of new plants in the next season).

• Hand Weeding

This is most effective against broad leaved annual weeds. It is time consuming, and for many weeds which will re-grow from a tiny piece of root, it is not sufficiently effective to make any real long term difference.

• Chemicals

Contact weedicides (herbicides) kill only the parts of the plant to which they are applied (ie. if they only touch the top half of a leaf, they only kill that top half, and the bottom half of the leaf remains alive). Contact weedicides, used to kill leaf, above ground growth on some annual weeds in turf are: Paraquat, Cacodylic acid (synonym dimethylarsinic acid) (the latter is not licensed in UK and Europe).

Systemic weedicides will be absorbed into plant tissue and carried throughout the entire plant, (a process known as translocation), killing all parts of the plant. Typical systemic weedicides are Roundup (active ingredient Glyphosate): 2,4-D and Mecoprop.

Pre-emergent weedicides kill weed seeds as they start to germinate. They can be applied to an established turf to prevent weed seeds germinating in that turf. Some common pre-emergent weedicides which can be used in turf are benefin: bensulide: lead arsenate and siduron (none of these are licensed in UK): DCPA (DCPA is licensed under the name of chlorthal or chlorthal-dimethyl in UK): ethofumesate.

Selective weedicides are those which kill one type of plant without affecting another type of plant. In turf, certain chemicals can be used to kill some types of weeds in an established lawn, without affecting grass: e.g. 2,4-D: 2,4-D+dicamba: dicamba: MSMA (MSMA is not licensed in UK)

• Fumigation

Chemical fumigation can be used to completely sterilize an area, killing weed seeds and ALL plants in an area. After fumigation, the site is generally rested for 3 days or more to get rid of all chemical residues before replanting the turf.

• Burning

Flame guns can be used to burn weeds out in spot control. Burning is more applicable for control of weeds on fence lines and other areas adjacent to turf (where weed seeds come from).

• Nutrition Management

By changing the situation in the soil with respect to the soil nutrition conditions can be made more favourable for the preferred turf grass plants and less favourable for the weeds: e.g. Onion Grass (Romulea rosea) is fed with superphosphate which favours turfgrass growth but is unfavourable to onion grass growth.