Invasive Plant Species Control Module FORESTRY SHORT COURSE 2003

Wednesday

June 4, 2003

8:30-5:00

To be taken together with “Plantation Establishment” moduleor “Invasive Plant Species Control” module

Instructor:

Dr. Phil Motooka

Specialist in Weed Science

Dept. Natural Resources & Environmental Management

College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

(University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Kona Research Station

79-7381 Mamalahoa Highway

Kealakekua HI 96750-7911

Tel. (808) 322-4896

Fax 322-4895

Agenda:

Tuesday, June 3.

  1. Why Weed Control? 15 min.
  1. Methods of Weed Control. 30 min.
  1. Quarantine and sanitation
  2. Biological
  3. Mechanical/manual
  4. Physical: Burning, mulch
  5. Cultural: fertilization, spacing, grazing
  6. Chemical Methods
  1. Pesticide Toxicology. 30 min
  1. Animal tests

-Massive doses on susceptible strains of animals.

-Does not simulate minute dose exposures to humans.

  1. Epidemiology

-Devesa and Silverman: Cancer not increasing.

-Doll and Peto: Pesticides unimportant as a cause of cancer in humans. Causes are diet, tobacco use, sunlight, alcohol. Few chemicals and only where exposure long term.

-Ames: Normal foods have 10,000 X more natural carcinogens than synthetic chemicals, carcinogenic or not. 80 year adult diet provides 0.16 oz of synthetics and 97 lb of natural carcinogens.

-American Cancer Society: Pesticides not proven to cause cancer.

-World Health Organization: Environmental factors 80% of cancers.

-U.S. Center for Health Statistics: Life span in U.S. increasing (premature deaths decreasing).

  1. Mechanics of foliar application. 45 min

a. Coverage, not drenching. Translocation vertical.

b. Physiology of Weeds and Herbicide Translocation

Uptake or absorption

Basipetal – phloem, live, photosynthesis, sunlight

Acropetal – xylem, dead, transpiration, sunlight

c. Healthy weeds

Adequate soil moisture

Disease and injury free.

  1. Low food reserves (integrated or sequential treatment)
  2. Precautions

Resistence – species build immunity.

Weed shifts - different, tolerant species move in.

Drift.

  1. Calibration. 50 min.
  1. Determine spray-volume-rate (SVR), gal/acre or l/ha.

80 gpa, 35 gpa, 10 gpa, 1.6 gpa

Conc X SVR = herbicide rate

  1. Reasons: Precise herbicide rate - economy, efficacy, law.
  2. Practicum.

Wednesday, June 4.

  1. Methods of Application. 50 min
  1. Foliar
  2. Cut-surface
  3. Cut-stump
  4. Basal bark
  5. Stump bark
  6. Soil
  1. Herbicide classification. 40 min
  1. Application: Pre-plant, pre-emergence, post-emergence.
  2. Mode of action
  3. Formulations: soluble, EC, wettable powders, granular and pellets.
  1. Drizzle Method 30 min.
  1. Foliar
  2. Basal
  1. Field Methods 40 min.
  1. In plots: Select weeds or plots for uniformity. Estimate weed cover or defoliation and later, in woody plants, kill.
  2. In large projects, run transects and count weed species, live and dead. This may require tagging plants if identification is not possible after defoliation.
  3. Box and whiskers data analysis ?

Procedure

- Plot data points on graph paper.

-Mark a line through median.

-Mark a line through median of the upper half of data.

-Mark a line through median of lower half of data.

-Extend lines (whiskers) from each end of box to closest outlying data point.

Analysis:

-Long box and whiskers indicate high degree of variation perhaps non-uniform dose or size of weed treated.

-Tight box and whiskers indicative of consistent data.

X.Field Demonstration of weed control methods – Waiakea Field Station

Handouts:

Motooka, Philip, Lincoln Ching, and Guy Nagai. 2002. Herbicidal Weed Control Methods for Pastures and Natural Areas of Hawaii. Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. [available online at are available from tel. 808-956-7046 or

References & recommendations:

Brennan, Barry M.; S. Swift;; C. Nagamine. 2002. Rights-of-Way Weed Control: A guide for Commercial Pesticide Applicators.Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Manoa. [hardcopies for sale via or tel. 808-956-7046]

Motooka, P., et. al. 2003. Invasive Weeds of Pastures and Natural Areas of Hawaii and Their Management. Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Manoa. [hardcopies for sale via or tel. 808-956-7046]