July 7, 2005
Local Weed Management Activities
Lots of late June weed management activities everywhere in Arizona, as agencies work to counteract the flush of weed growth brought on by the heavy winter moisture.
In the next week or so, you will see a lot of weed related entries.
Every weed seed bank has emptied its accounts this year, giving weed managers the opportunity to close out colonies and leave little behind to germinate next year. Unfortunately, the seed bank and resulting colonies are "gi-normous", the weed colonies are harder to knock down than ever, and they are making every effort to refill and redouble their seed bank accounts.
Local agencies have anticipated this situation, although budgets have not. Working cooperatively to maximize efforts, they will win some battles, but lose some, too. Budget constraint now will cost the Arizona economy many times more in future agricultural losses and control efforts.
Several entries this month highlight bright spots. They are by no means a complete rundown of weed management efforts. Pulling, spraying, mowing, grazing, and biological warfare efforts are ongoing throughout the region.