Landscape Maintenance - Herbicides
About Herbicides
Weed Control
Weeds are unwanted plants which grow within crops, vegetation, residential landscaping and gardens. Weeds compete with normal plants and flowers for nutrients, water and light and they eventually over take the garden. Having a weed control product will benefits the garden because it will rid of all unwelcome weeds and plants which can destroy the garden. A herbicide is a great pesticide which will rid of all unnecessary plants and weeds and help to keep your landscaped gardens beautiful and green. Definition of Herbicides
Herbicides are a chemical compound which are used to destroy and kill unwanted plants and weeds hence they are used to replace manual weeding. Herbicides are also used to prevent soil erosion and water loss due to evaporation. Herbicides are divided into 2 categories which include the following:
- Selective Herbicides
- Non-selective Herbicides
Selective herbicides are used and directly applied to specific types of crops and they will only eliminate the weed infested areas and unwanted plants. Selective herbicides will not destroy active and growing crops of vegetation. This category of herbicide is great for residential gardening use.
Non-selective herbicides when applied to the weed affected area will completely destroy all that it is applied to. This type of herbicide should not be applied to gardens and landscaping where there is only a small amount of weed because it will kill everything in the landscaped garden.
Contact Herbicides
Contact herbicides are those which are used and sprayed on only the affected area. They work fast and efficiently to rid of all weeds and unwanted plants. Contact herbicides work greatly with seasonal weed species and the herbicide adapts quickly to remove weeds prior to planting or replanting especially in states which have a tropical environment. Contact herbicides are also used widely among property owners to prevent soil erosion because they help keep the roots intact. Gramoxone is a type of contact herbicide which is popularly used in the garden and landscaping industry. Organic Herbicides
Organic herbicides are being used on residential and commercial landscaped sites because they only inject natural organisms into soil and gardens. Organic herbicides are more expensive then normal herbicides but they help keep the environment we live in free of harsh chemicals. They work just as effectively to normal herbicides. They contain a variety of natural ingredients which work effectively to kill of uninvited weeds and plants. Organic herbicides are made of the following natural products:
- Spice
- Vinegar
- Steam
- Flame
Each product works in their own way to slowly get rid of weeds and plants in gardens. Organic herbicides are used by farm, vegetation and crop owners who grow a wide variety of vegetables because the organic mixture is harmless to their yields.
Types of Herbicides
There is a selective range of herbicides available today for homeowners to choose from. Understanding the type of herbicide needed for your property will require investigating since all weed and unwanted plant conditions are different. Herbicides are also designed to be used only on landscaped turf and grass. Here is a list of some of the most common selective and non-selective herbicides used in today’s gardening industry: Selective
- Imazapic
- Picloram
- Dicamba
- Atrazine
Non-selective
- Imazapyr
- Glyphosate
- Paraquat
- Metoalachor
