Blanch Your Weeds 31 May 2012

Blanch your weeds 31 May 2012

You don't need to spray weedkiller to remove the achieve the same result as with classic herbicides, weeds between your paving stones. Six treatments but it is necessary to pursue a clear strategy. throughout the summer with either boiling water, steam or flaming will dispatch even the hardiest of "It is vital that the weed is starved. This means that unwanted plants. This is the conclusion of a new the plants must be treated repeatedly, and that the PhD project from the University of Copenhagen. leaves must wilt completely after each treatment. This prevents the plants from storing carbohydrates Weeds can be killed off with repeated treatments, in their roots, which is necessary for regrowth," but it is important that each treatment is dosed says Anne Merete Rask. correctly. In other words, the right dose and the right number Basically, every single plant needs to be burned of treatments are required, but then even the most lightly - or blanched - but on the other hand treated obstinate grass weed can be eradicated. more frequently. More information: Anne Merete Rask defended However, little is achieved if you just treat the her PhD thesis: 'Non-chemical Weed Control on weeds superficially by running quickly over the Hard Surfaces: An Investigation of Long-term paving stones. The leaves must collapse Effects of Thermal Weed Control Methods' on 20 completely - and the plant's stem must also be March 2012. struck by the flames.

Six times a season Provided by University of Copenhagen Treatment must be repeated up to six times a season. A regime of fewer treatments encourages grass weeds to regrow, while more treatments are not necessarily more effective:

"We have conducted several kinds of experiments since 2004. Controlled field experiments, experiments where we have planted weeds in hard surfaces and then burned them, as well as experiments with 'real' weeds on stones. We have observed that the treatments work. It does not really matter whether you use flaming, steam or boiling water. However, if we only give a few treatments or if we use low doses, the weeds quickly reappear. Very low doses can even stimulate grass growth. This is also the case with many herbicides," says Anne Merete Rask, PhD from Forest & Landscape, Faculty of Life Sciences at the University ofCopenhagen.

Leaves must wilt after each treatment

Using alternative methods of weed control can

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APA citation: Blanch your weeds (2012, May 31) retrieved 24 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2012-05-blanch-weeds.html

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