Wednesday, August 13, 2014

By Linda Ruiz


A weed can be any plant that can be potentially useful, yet considered to be something that is undesirable in a particular agricultural scenario. These plants just happen to thrive at the worst possible locations, as in human controlled lands such as gardens, fields, lawns, and amusement parks. No plant specie is considered a weed, as a plant only becomes one when it grows in an area where it is not supposed to.

Since these plants are located where they are not supposed to be, people pull them out and kill them. This is necessary, as these intruders can actually harm the other plants that are grown alongside them. They are also pulled out when they are proving to be an inconvenience in some areas such as railroad tracks. They can affect the safe access of trains upon these tracks which is why railroad weed control is proving to be of utmost importance.

The act of trying to keep population in check is more commonly known as weed control. This act is primarily done to stop the growth of the potentially dangerous types that can bring about various problems both in the world of agriculture and transportation. This often entails the use of many methods, among them botanical, manual, and chemical procedures.

The attempt to control these unwanted growths is of utmost importance. Weeds can reduce yields of farmers because they constantly compete with crops for essential living ingredients such as water, sunlight, and nutrients from the soil. They can also reduce the profits when they lower the quality of said crops.

Aside from being serious crop competition, they can also become the breeding grounds of many harmful pests that can bring about far more serious problems to dedicated farmers. These pests may just drop the quality and yield of most crops. They can also bring about health problems. Some plants are poisonous and can be fatal once ingested. They can also reach a very wide scope when they are left to their own devices. Most of them can even completely cover structures such as railways.

To get to the root of the problem, various approaches have to be employed. The most conventional one is the manual method. This requires one to really get down and dirty and pull out these pests before they breed. In pulling these plants out, one has to make sure that the root gets uprooted along with whole plant, or else they will just grow again.

Weed mats are also used to keep their population in check. The placement of this kind of mat involves covering the infested area with special material that specifically creates a hostile environment. Since the said environment is not conducive for growth, weeds are hindered from surviving.

Herbicides can also be used, wherein chemicals are introduced to the soil to discourage weeds from growing. Herbicides are readily available almost everywhere, especially in agricultural lands such as Richland City, IN. These chemicals can also have their classifications, as weed control can have unique specifications.

Since varying chemicals bring about different effects, farmers also consider a lot of things before they decide on one product. Contact types are those that kill once they come in contact. Soil borne types are placed in the soil to be absorbed by the erring plant.




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