- Author: Guy B Kyser
Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) kept a low profile during the drought years but seems to have exploded following this year's rains. (It is still ‘lying low', so to speak, but there is a lot more of it.)
Also known as goatheads or caltrop, puncturevine is a prostrate annual that produces large, hard, spiked seeds. The seeds disseminate by sticking to animals, tires, and feet, and can easily puncture bike and ATV tires. I tried to do a puncturevine study once but couldn't get the seeds to germinate; my theory now is that the seeds have to be run over by a vehicle before they'll sprout. Conveniently, the plant is commonly found along dirt roads, on roadsides, and on the edges of ag...
- Author: Cheryl A. Wilen
In what has been dubbed “dandelion-gate,” members of the Washington State legislature spent 20 minutes complaining about weeds on the capital's lawn “In all the years I've been here I've never seen so many dandelions all over,” Sen. Mike Padden (R) said. “Is it your policy not to treat dandelions?” The department responsible for landscaping responded that the legislature cut its budget and now it only has 15 people covering the nearly 500 acre campus.
More and more, cities and public agencies are being asked to review and revise (and in some cases develop) their pesticide use policies. Often...
- Author: Richard Smith
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Automated lettuce thinners that use a spray mechanism to remove unwanted lettuce plants and weeds have been widely adopted in the Salinas Valley and desert production districts. The machines utilize a camera to capture images of the lettuce plants in the seedline, calculate plants that need to be removed and those that will be kept (keepers) and then it activates a spray mechanism treat the unwanted plants. The spray mechanism has advantages over mechanical devices (e.g. swinging or spinning blades) because they do not disturb the soil or cut roots, and in addition, they have less inertia and can be quicker in responding to a signal from the computer. However, spray mechanisms can potentially drift or wafting control materials onto the...
- Author: Guy B Kyser
Was happy to hear a Cap Public Radio story this morning about poison hemlock (Conium maculatum). I had some thoughts on the report.
1) Poison hemlock is not native to Nevada, as the story suggested... it's a European weed (think Socrates). Maybe the writers heard "naturalized".
2) People don't normally get violently ill just from touching poison hemlock. (I wouldn't roll around in it, though, and I would wash hands after touching it.)
3) Emphasize, emphasize, emphasize the purple spots on the stem! (Hence "maculatum".) That's how you can...
- Posted by: Gale Perez
The Western IPM Center's May 2017 newsletter just came out.
The IPM VIDEO OF THE MONTH is on a robotic herbicide sprayer that targets weeds.