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Getting a handle on Palmer amaranth

Palmer amaranth has been a problem in the south, but now the weed, described by some as “pigweed on steroids,” has been found further north.

“There’s some now in Wisconsin, there’s an area in Indiana and there’s a big area in Michigan that has come in with cotton seed from the south that they are using in feed for dairy and other livestock operations,” said Mark Loux, Extension weed scientist at Ohio State. “People are taking manure from that and spreading it, and that’s how it’s gotten established.”

The Palmer amaranth found in southern Ohio, Loux believes may have come in in a CREP wildlife seeding, as a seed contaminate.

No matter, the OSU weed scientist says rarely do we have the opportunity to be on the front end of a problem, he’s hopeful we can keep palmer amaranth from becoming established.

“This is a weed that just requires very close management,” Loux said. “You can get it, but the guys down south that are working with it, it’s just really a struggle, even a good program struggles with it.”

Audio: Mark Loux, Extension, weed scientist, Ohio State University (2:45 mp3)