Part of my job as the Director/Farm Advisor at the Intermountain Research and Extension Center involves overseeing weed management programs for a variety of crops and non-cropland at the Center. Over the last month, Ive observed the outcome of these programs as many of the crops are nearing harvest.
Over the weekend, the Sacramento Bee published an article discussing the invasiveness and spread of yellow starthiste (Centaurea solstitialis) in California. http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/21/3847369/invasive-yellow-star-thistle-aims.
Today I'm asking for input from folks who work in orchard and vineyard weed control (land owners, managers, pest control advisors, sprayer operators, etc.) on your take on herbicide resistant weeds.
The nursery industry has introduced thousands of ornamental plants, but only a small percentage (~1%) has escaped to become invasive and cause economic or ecological damage. Thus, the removal of these known invasives should not present a major economic hardship on the industry.
