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Weevils and Weeds

By Guest PostJuly 3, 2012Environmentamanda stout, chester county, China, coverdale farm preserve, creek state park, dave pro, delaware, doug tallamy, judy hough goldstein, margo mcdonough, mile a minute, pea patch island, photosynthesize, rhinoncomimus latipes, shrubs, weed, weeds, weevil, weevils, white clay, yard

UD researchers use weevils to check spread of prolific mile-a-minute weed

Mile-a-minute weed has declared war on Doug Tallamy’s yard. This non-native, invasive vine is growing up his trees, scrambling over shrubs and smothering tree seedlings. By blocking sunlight, it weakens a plant by reducing its ability to photosynthesize.

Mile-a-minute doesn’t care one whit that Tallamy, professor and chair of the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, is a highly respected proponent of native gardening who doesn’t believe in planting any non-natives, let alone a highly invasive non-native.

“The deer brought mile-a-minute from our neighbor’s yard three years after we moved in,” says Tallamy. “We had just a few plants the first year, a few hundred the second year, and 20 trillion the third year.” (more…)

‘Wicked Weed of The West’ Waning With Effect of Weevils, Other Nontoxic Remedies, Cu Finds

It’s not often that plants are described as diabolical, but spotted knapweed has that rare distinction. A 2004 issue of Smithsonian magazine, for instance, dubbed it the “wicked weed of the West,” a “national menace” and a “weed of mass destruction.”

Such reports were overstated and incorrect, but the press wasn’t making this stuff up. It was summarizing research results published in leading academic journals. (more…)

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Weevils and Weeds

‘Wicked Weed of The West’ Waning With Effect of Weevils, Other Nontoxic Remedies, Cu Finds