—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 19,1979
142
There’s no miracle control for
NEWARK, Del. - A
question frequently asked by
home gardeners is “Isn’t
there some chemical I can
spray on my garden to get
rid of weeds?” It would be
nice if there was some
product that could ef
fectively zap all those weeds
that grow so lushly around
your onions and tomatoes
each year. But don’t look for
any chemical miracles, says
University of Delaware
Extension horticulturist Dr.
Charles Dunham. When it
comes to weed control in the
home garden, there aren’t
any miracle products.
Although farmers, nur
serymen and professional
maintenance people make
extensive use of chemicals to
control the weeds, this
method is not promising for
Shorthorn-Polled Shorthorn breed to present 4 Outlook ‘79’
SPRINGFIELD, 111. -
“Performance Testing and
Carcass Evaluation”,
“Selection” and “The Steer
Show How it Influences
the Industry” will be three
Chinese scientists begin U.S. tour
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Eight botanical scientists
from the People’s Republic
of China have begun a
month’s tour of U.S. in
stitutions engaged in
botanical research and
education at the University
of Maryland, College Park.
The delegation, led by Dr.
Tang Pei-Song, Peking,-
includes six members of the
Chinese Academy of
Sciences. Their five day tour 1
of the Washington area,
April 30 - May 4 also included
stops at the U.S. Department ■
the average home gardener
at least not in the way he
usually envisions,, of just
spraying on a chemical and
watching the weeds vanish.
Weed killers are most
successful when one is
dealing with a single kind of
plant, explains Dunham. In
this case it’s often possible to
kill the weeds at a suscep
tible stage and not damage
the plants you want to grow.
Most home gardeners are
familiar with crabgrass
control on lawns. A chemical
is applied before the weed
germinates and it controls
the young crabgrass
seedlings without damaging
the lawn. Some of the same
chemicals like Dacthal
which are used to control
crabgrass in lawns will also
control germinating weed
major topics at seminars
during Outlook ’79*— An
Industry Update, a national
meeting for Shor
thorn/Polled Shorthorn
breeders at the Holiday Inn
of Agriculture’s Beltsville,
Md. research facility, the
National Arboretum, the
Smithsonian Institution and
the Unviersity of Maryland,
Baltimore County. Here to
study the interrelationships
that exist among research,
/7\«,
Vp ORK cattlous AND NUTRITIOUS
wx/U for You AND YOUR FAAAILY
grass in flower and
vegetable gardens. But you
must apply the chemical to a
weed-free soil before the
weed grasses sprout. Af
terwards, it’s too late. Also,
the chemical is less effective
in controlling some annual
broadleaf weeds, and it is of
no value at ail with perennial
weeds. To make matters
even more difficult, the
amount of herbicide you can
use is very critical. Too
much will cause plant in
jury. Too little gives poor
weed control.
What about contact killers
like 2,4-D? This type of
herbicide controls many
broadleaf .weeds and is safe
for a lawn as it does not
damage grasses. However,
it is dangerous to use this
herbicide around flower and
East in Springfield, 111., on
July 6.
The three topics will be
presented at 9 a.m. by Dr. T.
D. Rich, Oklahoma State
University, Stillwater,
education and citizen, the
delegation was instructed by
University of Maryland'
faculty members and
Cooperative Extension
Service specialists in
botany, horticulture and '
agronomy.
. igclcililcs as Uiese plants
are as susceptible to it as the
weeds you want to get rid of,
points out Dunham. Also, 2,4-
D does not kill grass-type
weeds.
Other contact killers such
as Amitrol will kill most
weeds. They can be used
where they can be sprayed
on weeds without drifting
onto garden plants. But such
herbicides are most ef
fective on small weeds
between 2-4 inches high.
Amitrol is one of the safest
materials to use in certain
specialized situations, such
as ridding walks and
driveways of weeds, a
tedious hand chore.
Another disadvantage of
chemical weed controls for
the home garden is that
many „f them are not easily
Okla.; Glenn Klippenstem,
Glenkirk Farms, Maysville,
Mo.; and Mac Smith of
Derby Farms, Crestwood, Alan K. Sears, junior
Ky., respectively,—activities for the American
Moderator for the day’s "Shorthorn Association, said
activities that are expected the Outlook ’79 program is
to draw cattlemen from part of activities scheduled
across the United States will during the National Junior
be Doug Parrett of_ the Shorthorn Heifer Show at the
University of Illinois. Illinois State Fairgrounds at
An afternoon session will Springfield, July 5-7.
include a panel presentation Rich, Klippenstem and
entitled “Let’s Talk Type” Smith will also serve as
with question and answer judges for this national
periods and a summary of junior show that expects well
the day to be followed by an over 300 entries this year,
obtainable in small quan
tities, notes the hor
ticulturist.
So the answer for home
gardeners is, yes, chemicals
can be used to control some
annual weeds by applying
the proper amount to the soil
before weed seeds ger
minate, arid by careful use of
directed sprays on unwanted
weeds in shrub beds, borders
and along walks.
But for the average
homeowner with the usual
sized garden, the best
methods of weed control are
still those old-fashioned
standbys mulches, the
hoe, and down-on-your-knees
hand labor.
Black plastic or old
newspapers covered with a
light layer of any organic
mulch give excellent, safe
evening barbecue sponsored
by Cagwm Cattle Services,
Inc., of Virginia, HI.
weeds
weed control. Where
newspapers are used, be
sure to add extra fertilizer.
Two to four inches of almost
any mulch (woodchips,
bark, licorice root, straw,
grass clippings) will also
give good weed control with
a minimum of hand weeding
in flowers and vegetables.
One bit of advice from
Dunham where hand
weeding is necessary, get'at
it early, while weeds are still
small and the ground is
moist from a recent rain or
watering. There may be no
chemical miracles available
to keep the home garden
weed-free. But some simple
mechanical . control
measures taken early m the
growing season can take
much of the hard work out of
this unpopular garden chore.
Sears said, with judging to
take place on July 7,
beginning at 8 a.m.
Reservations to attend the
Outlook ’79 activities should
be made directly through the
offices of the American
Shorthorn Association in
Omaha, Nb., Sears said.
The combination of
Outlook ’79 An Industry
Update and the national
junior show will provide one
of the most informative and
valuable breed activities
held in recent years. Sears
concluded.