SPRAYERS & SPRAYING
The move away
from Glyphosate
any UK grounds maintenance
M companies and county
councils are re-examining
the use of glyphosate herbicides and
seeking non-chemical weed removal.
This is happening amid the continuing
debates on the effects of glyphosate
on our health and manufacturers’
claims that abandoning glyphosate
weedkiller in favour of alternatives
will cost grounds care businesses
and councils more. Finding a
commercially viable alternative to
its use in urban settings is the first
stage for authorities looking to
phase out the use of pesticides and
herbicidal weedkillers. The problem
is a majority of ground care and
landscape maintenance professionals
have become reliant on glyphosate in
their weed control programmes and
many consider the substitute options
are limited and, in most cases, more
costly.
Manual removal will most likely
always be a part of weed control, but
it is labour intensive and therefore
expensive. The use of post-emergent
herbicides such as pelargonic acid will
control small broadleaf weeds but can
only partially damage perennial and
large annual weeds. Other naturally
occurring broad-spectrum herbicides
including glufosinate and diquat are
similarly only contact active and
don’t translocate to the roots of the
treated weeds. Acetic acid–vinegar
is effective in burning weed leaves
but again has no residual activity and
overall, the repeated use of herbicides
has led to resistance in many species
of weed. So where next do you look
for the holy grail alternative to the
use of glyphosate? Heat kills seedling
broadleaf weeds and flame weeding
is effective in hardscapes but not
practical where flammable materials
may be present; and it only causes
foliar damage, meaning grasses,
perennial broadleaf weeds and sedges
rapidly re-grow after treatment. Which
brings us to the use of hot water and
insulating, biodegradable foam.
“Foamstream is a process
many UK local authorities,
greenspace contractors
and municipalities around
the world are using daily”
“
22 GroundskeepingJournal.co.uk | Summer 2020