This is the dreaded pigweed. A plant feared and faced in any region of the United States with a growth hormone faster than a racecar. It is a summer annual that germinates from late winter through summer season. It grows incredibly fast and spreads like wildfire; seeds spread inch by inch to cover an entire field. If farmers don't carefully clean their machines they could potentially ruin a clean field if just one tiny pigweed seed hits the ground. They are nitrate-accumlating in certain environmental conditions. Nitrate is found in fertilizer, but too much can be posionous. The weed can be killed by herbicides if it is caught young (and I mean smaller than 3 inches tall). However, once that baby hits 4+ inches you can forget about it.
The pigweed especially interests me because of its growth potential. I have seen a one inch pigweed on a Monday and by the end of the week it was up to my hip! Once the weed takes over it is hard to distinguish your crop and weed regrowth becomes a problem later on.
The weeds on the left have not invaded the corn on the right because the corn has been sprayed with some Anthem (TM) herbicide to protect it. This is just a great example of what I've seen all summer from Texas to North Carolina. One thing I'd like to research is possibility for transforming pigweeds into biofuels. A plant this strong should be manipulated for benefits - we just need to figure out how to do it!
No comments:
Post a Comment