Prevention Key to Fight Invasive Weeds

Prevention Key to Fight Invasive Weeds. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. This year's theme for Oregon Invasive Weed Awareness Week, going on this week, can be summed up in one word– clean. Spread the word, not the weed. That's the slogan being used for this year's weed awareness week as proclaimed by the governor. Oregonians are being asked to do their part in preventing the spread of invasive weeds and their seeds- not just this special week, but all year long. BUTLER: Weeds can be spread any time of the year through soil, on equipment or boots or whatever that's contaminated with weed seed, but I think during the major part of the growing season when folks are outdoors more, have a higher potential to spread. Tim Butler, supervisor of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Noxious Weed Control Program, says the same kind of awareness and diligence is just as critical for the public as it is for those who work in agriculture, forestry, or construction. BUTLER: Your boots, your backpack, your jacket, and even your dog can be vectors for picking up weed seed and moving it to other areas. Thorough cleaning of clothes, equipment, and off road vehicles is an important step in keeping invasive weeds from spreading. Early detection of noxious weeds and rapid response is an effective strategy. Not introducing the weed to a non-infested area in the first place is even better. Butler says ODA recently became aware of how easy it is to unknowingly transport weed seeds after power washing an all-terrain vehicle used to survey noxious weeds in Eastern Oregon. A close inspection found seeds trapped under the ATV's skid plate. BUTLER: Even those of us out there that are professional weed warriors, if you will, and controlling weeds can also spread them. Butler says people don't think about being vectors for spreading weeds. One of main culprits is equipment moved from an infested area to a non-infested area. BUTLER: Heavy equipment is a major vector that has been identified as far as moving invasive weeds and seed that gets trapped on the equipment and soil and mud and so forth, and transported to another site. Then you start another infestation. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.