Wadena
County
Noxious Weeds
What are
noxious weeds? Noxious weeds
are deemed by the Commissioner of Agriculture to be injurious to
public health, the environment, public roads, crops, livestock and
other property.
Weed types
1-11 are classified as “Prohibited Noxious” statewide.
Weeds listed 12-14 are classified as “Prohibited Noxious” in
Wadena
County
and weeds 15 & 16 are classified as “Restricted Noxious”.
Wadena
County
has a total of 16 Noxious Weeds:
1.
Field Bindweed (Also called “Creeping Jenny” or
“Morning Glory”)
9. Plumeless Thistle
2.
Hemp (Marijuana)
10. Purple
Loosestrife
3. Poison Ivy
11.
Garlic Mustard
4. Leafy Spurge 12.
Giant Foxtail
5.
Sowthistle
13.
Hoary Alyssum
6. Canada Thistle
14.
Absinthe Wormwood
7. Bull Thistle
15. Common or
European Buckthorn
8.
Muck Thistle
16. Glossy Buckthorn
Spotted Knapweed
is another weed that is of growing concern in
Wadena
County.
It spread rapidly this year in the road ditches of Hwy 71,
County Road 23 and 14. This
is a weed that produces its own herbicide so that nothing else will
grow under or around it.
If
this gets into our hay fields it will be severely reduce hay
production. Spotted Knapweed
seed may be spread by vehicles, including ATV’s or in livestock
feed, hay used as mulch or contaminated crop seed or gravel.
Chemical treatment may be necessary for several years to
deplete the seed bank.
Many of the
noxious weeds grow as perennials.
Perennial weeds are usually more difficult to control than
annuals because they persist and spread by vegetative means
(underground roots) as well as seed.
Most perennial weed infestations can be controlled by a
combination of tillage, cultivation, crop selection, crop management
and herbicide usage. Control
in the fall is important to achieve long-term control of perennial
weeds. In the fall,
perennial weeds build-up food reserve in the root in order to
survive the winter. It is
important to prevent the build-up of these food reserves by cutting,
mowing or applying a herbicide treatment to the perennial weed.
Usually repeated suppression of perennial weed growth by
tillage, cultivation or herbicide treatment for two or three years
is required for complete control of perennial weed infestation.
Many times
noxious weeds will be found growing in areas that are difficult to
reach with ground sprayers or mowers.
In these cases you will have to rely on methods such as hand
cutting, hand spraying or aerial spray applications.
Stop in
at the
Wadena
SWCD
office for descriptions of these and other weeds.
We can also give you advice on chemical, cultural, mechanical
and biological treatments of each type of weed.
Good Weed Control is a
combination of Cultural, Mechanical and Chemical.
