Weed Control

Buyers guide to weed control

Jana Silver finds solutions to combat invasive weeds with the help of industry experts

Josh Brown, BASIS expert, ProGreen: “Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), also known as Mare's Tail, is a pernicious weed which will quickly spread to dominate a landscape. It is also capable of damaging hard surfaces such as tarmac or block paving if left unchecked. While Horsetail can spread by spores released during the first stage of its lifecycle it is much more commonly brought into site as fragments of rhizome in poor quality or poorly screened topsoil and compost. It develops a wide reaching root system and so also commonly invades areas by spreading under boundaries from neighbouring wasteland or poorly managed sites.

“Horsetail is also capable of regenerating from very small root fragments. With this in mind, always make sure any material brought into site is of a good quality. Do not try to dig it out as this will only produce many fragments encouraging its spread. Instead, treat it with a professionally recommended herbicide as soon as horsetail is spotted and do not allow it time to establish and take hold.

“There are two products which we at ProGreen recommend for horsetail control, which is Kurtail Evo and SBK.

Lewis Blois, national account manager, Bayer Environmental Science:

“With the weed season fast approaching amenity contractors are being encouraged to prepare a plan of attack for controlling weeds this spring. For successful

Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) spreads quickly untreated. Credit: Bayer Environmental Science.

weed control, the first step of any integrated weed control programme is to monitor the site. The earlier the weeds and areas of potential weed growth are identified, the sooner they can be managed.

“For example, electricity power sites can have zero tolerance policies for weeds, so it’s important to prevent weeds emerging as soon as the optimum weather conditions are present. The next step is planning. There are many different approaches that can be taken, so amenity contractors need to decide their plan of attack and whether to implement pre- or post-emergence weed control.

“Finally, put the plan into practice. Cultural options for pre-emergence weed control are fairly limited and therefore residual herbicides are the most efficient solution to prevent weeds developing.

Boiling hot waters kills cellular structure of roots.

“Applying a residual pre-emergence herbicide such as Valdor® Flex can provide efficient control against a broad spectrum of weeds for up to four months and is also a cost-effective solution. This residual herbicide can be applied to permeable surfaces and railway ballasts to provide successful control in environments from industrial sites to public spaces. Best results have been achieved when residual herbicides are applied early in the season before weeds are present. However, they may not cover the entire growing period, so a post-emergence strategy may be required if weeds re-emerge, this can include cultural controls such as strimming or a total herbicide.

“If weeds are already present when you apply Valdor® Flex, it will need to be applied in a tank mix with a glyphosate-based product such as RoundUp® , ProVantage or ProActive, as this will provide initial knockdown of established weeds, while the residual product will provide long-lasting control. The important thing to remember is weeds will pose a challenge this spring, so it pays to be prepared and have a plan in place.

End user, Bury Council Councillor Alan Quinn:

“Bury Council have become the latest organisation to opt for an environmentally friendly weed control solution. A new ’green’ way of killing weeds with hot water rather than glyphosate has been ordered. The Multevo Hot Water Weed System uses boiling water rather than traditional herbicides to tackle weeds and can also be used for chemical-free high-pressure cleaning to remove grime, gum, graffiti and general sanitation of street furniture.

“This comes after people expressed concerns about the council using chemicals to tackle weeds, especially around schools and play areas, and want to see chemical-free alternatives used instead. We have therefore ordered this new vehicle as part of our review into the use of herbicides and pesticides. It will enable us to keep the borough tidier in a much greener way.

“The machine can also be used to remove chewing gum and mosses and algae from surfaces so can also keep our town centres looking nicer.“

Multevo are the sole UK supplier of Waterkracht’s range of hot water weed control equipment who have been manufacturing this type of equipment since the early 1990’s. The equipment requires no additives to kill weeds and works by delivering an efficient low-pressure treatment accurately at 98°C to kill the cellular structure of the root using Waterkracht’s Boiling Hot water Technique® .

There are some excellent products for dealing with Field Horsetail