Industrial Vegetation Management

Scrub, brush and woody weeds are a common sight in both urban and rural areas. These weeds can cause damage to private and public property if left uncontrolled, adversely affecting infrastructure, buildings and the biodiversity of the landscape.

Many of these weeds are extremely difficult to control, due to their hardiness and aggressive rates of growth. Not only do they require treatment at different times of the year, they may also require a variety of control methods in order to achieve optimum results.

Rail

The presence of woody weeds along railway lines lead to many safety problems. These include:

• Japanese knotweed — Fallopia japonica — restricting sightlines
• Brambles causing tripping hazards at access points
• Brambles affecting safe operation of signals
• Weed trees causing leaves to fall on the line
• Buddleia damaging bridges, leading to instability
• Ragwort — Senecio jacobea — multiplying on embankments and spreading to agricultural land

Motorway and Carriageway Embankments

Safety can also be compromised if weeds are left uncontrolled on roadsides.

• Brambles can prevent motorists stranded on a motorway from getting safely off the hard shoulder
• Woody weeds and scrub can obscure signposts
• Weeds such as mugwort — Artemisia vulgaris — can cause damage to crash barriers, as well as obscuring visual inspections of damaged sections
• Multiplication of ragwort and spread to agricultural land

Industrial Sites

• Scrub, brush and woody weeds can damage site machinery
• They can also present a fire risk
• Weeds can harbour vermin, causing a risk to health

Elder growing around
base of a power line

Electricity Power Lines

• Trees growing under or adjacent to power lines can cause disruption to power supplies.

The Key Weeds:

Herbaceous Species

    
Common Ragwort                       Dock

Ragwort, docks, thistles and other herbaceous weeds can be effectively controlled using SYNERO*, active ingredients floroxypyr and aminopyralid. Again, SYNERO is safe to grasses, making it the logical choice for motorway and railway embankments.

Woody Weed Species

Bramble, broom, gorse, rosebay willowherb, buddleia, Japanese knotweed and other woody weeds can be controlled using a managed approach with products containing the active ingredient triclopyr, as found in Garlon* 4 and Timbrel*. Woody species can be controlled with Timbrel and Garlon 4 using a variety of application methods at different times of the year. These include cut stump, winter shoot, basal bark and foliar treatments.

 
Creeping Thistle

Where thistles are a problem in addition to woody weeds, Blaster*, containing triclopyr plus clopyralid, would be the product of choice.

Triclopyr degrades rapidly in the soil, allowing planting to take place from six weeks after application. In many situations where scrub, brush and woody weeds have to be controlled it is desirable to leave grass cover. Not only does this provide vital wildlife habitats, it also prevents soil erosion and enhances the appearance of treated areas. Blaster, Timbrel and Garlon 4 do not damage grasses and can be used with confidence where cover needs to be maintained.

Invasive Species

  

Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica), mugwort and other difficult to control species can be controlled with products containing the active ingredient picloram, such as Tordon* 22K.  Picloram has both foliar and residual action, and is safe to grasses. The use of Tordon 22K to control Japanese knotweed can quickly lead to increased biodiversity, as native grass species recolonise treated areas as soon as the weeds have died back. Broad-leaved species of desirable plants can naturally recolonise treated areas in subsequent years after application.

For more information on Japanese Knotweed click here

Visit the product pages for more comprehensive information about Blaster, Garlon 4, Synero, Timbrel, Tordon 101 and Tordon 22K.