How do we manage invasive plants?

For example, when we are managing invasive non-native Japanese knotweed and native Field horsetail, we need to think about similar things:

• We don’t get good management results from physical (mechanical) control methods such as cutting.
• Herbicide application needs to be timed with things happening inside the plants (plant lifecycle processes such as die-back) during the growing season – otherwise
  known as the treatment or herbicide application ‘window’.
• We often don’t see rapid control (less than one year) of above ground growth (stems and leaves) using chemical (herbicide) control methods.
• We can’t be sure of how much of the below ground rhizome (root) system is dead, even when visible above ground growth has been controlled.

We need to know more about how plants grow (plant life history traits) and function tomanage them better.

This uses less herbicide, fuel (carbon dioxide, CO2) and money – ‘we can do more with less’ – this is what sustainability really means.

Sustainability has the added benefits of providing better results in an economical manner.

Also, doing more with less is important for the long-term management of invasive plants, as most of these have sustained treatment timeframes (three or more years).

Don’t break the bank using lots of expensive control treatments in the first years ofmanagement – you will run out of cash before you get the job done!