| Many of the winter annuals, such as Shepherds
Purse, Pepperweed, Field Pennycress and numerous other plants
in the Cruciferae Family are already flowering. Many homeowners
in the Twin Cities area sponsoring their own botanical display
in their lawns with showy dandelions and pesky Heal-All. It’s
time to get out the Weed-N-Feed.
Crop producers are averse to showy botanical displays of
flowers or other ubiquitous uninvited greenery running amuck
amongst the parallel rows of corn, soybean, sugarbeet, and
small grains. Planting Roundup Ready crops puts the grower
at ease in making his selection of chemical weed control. However,
there are weed escapes or new weed immigrants moving into the
field that vie for the grower’s attention. Help is available
for identifying the unknown weeds cohabitating with your row
crops and pastures. Weeds can be sent to the Department of
Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota
for identification. There is no charge, but this service is only
offered to crop producers and those people working in the agricultural
service sector. Weed samples that need to be identified
can be sent in two ways: (1) by mail or (2) email with attached
digital photos. If using Email, enclose background information
about the weed along with 2-3 digital photos. Be sure the photos
are good quality and in focus so they show the main characteristics
of the weed such as the whole plant, stem, leaf structure,
and flower. If you are mailing a sample for identification,
please follow the guidelines below.
- DO NOT place weeds in plastic bags or wrap in plastic.
Plants will turn to mush in the mail.
- DO NOT tape weeds to paper or manila folders.
- Place plant samples in newspapers or paper towels. Press
overnight under the weight of a heavy book and mail them
in the paper. If necessary, plants can be gently folded to
accommodate the envelope.
- Mail all plants samples at the beginning of the week.
This will help to avoid having the plant samples sit in the
post-office over a weekend.
- Send at least two samples of the entire plant that include
the top growth of the plant- stems, leaves, and the flowers
and/or fruits, if available. Roots are not normally needed
for identification of older plants. However, if sending weed
seedlings or older plants, please send the entire plant.
- Include background information about the plant: perennial,
annual, biennial (if known), where found (cropland, near
a wetland, edge of field, soil type, sunny/shady location,
etc.)
- Include your name address, phone number, and/or email.
Mail weed samples to:
Kevin Cavanaugh
Department of Agronomy & Plant Genetics
411 Borlaug Hall
1991 Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108
Digital photos can be sent by email: cavan008@umn.edu
Information on weed management, herbicide application, and
timing can be found in the University of Minnesota Extension
Service publication BU-3157-S Cultural and Chemical Weed
Control in Field Crops-2004. You can view this on the
web at:
www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/DC3157.html
Click on the PDF version in the upper left hand corner to
view the entire bulletin.
Homeowners should contact their University of Minnesota County
Extension Office or Master Gardener to seek help in identifying
weeds found in the lawn and garden.
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