By Emily Unglesbee
When you can’t beat a weed with the usual methods, sometimes you need to hire some natural enemies from Mother Nature to help out.
This idea – of using naturally occurring organisms and weed predators such as insects, diseases, or even livestock – is known as biological weed control, or biocontrol for short. It’s not a new idea, but it is an expanding field. That’s why the GROW network is releasing a newly updated webpage on this form of weed management, authored by Penn State emeritus weed scientist Dr. William Curran.
Don’t expect a quick fix from this kind of weed control, Curran explains in the new webpage. “These methods do not eradicate the target weeds but rather exert pressure on them to reduce their populations to more acceptable and manageable levels,” he explains. “They tend to be long-term actions and only work with certain weed species.”
Biocontrol for weeds breaks down roughly into four categories, and the new webpage follows suit. Readers can open the page’s accordions to learn more about each section.
Click here to see more...