The Advantages of the Use of Herbicides in Weed Control
Herbicides are pesticides that kill unwanted plants. Ranging from non-selective herbicides that kill all plants to selective herbicides that kill specific plants, these pesticides have advantages such as stopping weeds before they grow, controlling invasive plant species and spot-treating home and garden weeds. Does this Spark an idea?
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Pre-emergent
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Pre-emergent herbicides kill weed seedlings before they develop into weeds. These herbicides, often mixed with lawn fertilizer, kill crabgrass and other weeds before they become lawn problems. Advantages are that weeds die before they can be seen.
Post-emergent
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Post-emergent herbicides kill growing weeds. Herbicides control invasive and noxious weeds such as poison oak, common ivies and wild blackberries. These vines reproduce from broken stems, and they are not well-controlled by mechanical or biological methods. Advantages are that the weeds are killed to the root, and the person minimizes contact with noxious plant parts.
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Spot Treatment
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Spot-treatment herbicides kill individual growing weeds without disturbing adjacent plants. Spot herbicides typically kill a weed or grass plant down to the root, an advantage over hand-weeding that may leave a growing weed in the ground. Spot-treatment herbicides control isolated weeds in vegetable gardens so that maturing crops are not disturbed by cultivation or hand-pulling weeds.
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References
- University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service; Weed Control for Home Lawns - Preemergence Herbicides; October 2010
- Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service; Weed Control for the Garden and Landscape; B. Rosie Lerner, et al.; February 2003
- University of Connecticut: Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group; Considerations
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