. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. NATURALIST'S NOTEBOOK. vitex from the ground won't do, says Nash. The root ball may still be intact, or stems may break off, allowing the plant to recolonize a cleared area. Herbicides are a potential option, says Gresham, who is experimenting with different herbicides and application methods on four sites in Georgetown County. Three sites are on Pawley's Island, and the fourth is on Litchfield Beach. Each site contains three test plots — one for each eradication method. The first method involves cutting b
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. NATURALIST'S NOTEBOOK. vitex from the ground won't do, says Nash. The root ball may still be intact, or stems may break off, allowing the plant to recolonize a cleared area. Herbicides are a potential option, says Gresham, who is experimenting with different herbicides and application methods on four sites in Georgetown County. Three sites are on Pawley's Island, and the fourth is on Litchfield Beach. Each site contains three test plots — one for each eradication method. The first method involves cutting beach vitex down to a stump and painting the raw edge with glyphosate, the active ingredient in many common weed killers. A week after implementing this method, Gresham returned to the plots and planted sea oats. Later this year, he will assess how well the sea oats have established themselves, and how much, if any, beach vitex has grown back. For the second method, called the "hack and squirt" method in forestry, the plant stem is wounded with a sharp object, and an herbicide with the active ingredient imazapyr is applied to the wounds. The third method, also borrowed from forestry, involves applying basal paint, an herbicide mixed with light oil, to a 12- to 18-inch section of the vine. The mixture penetrates the bark and seeps into the plant's tissue, Gresham explains. If the second and third eradication treatments prove successful, Gresham will plant all remaining plots with sea oats. But he won't be able to assess the effectiveness of each method until later this summer. What will be his criterion for success? "At least 70 percent of beach vitex is dead in the areas where these methods were used," he says. Eradicating beach vitex is critical, says Nash. But given the plant's prolific nature, research on herbicides designed to kill seeds also may be needed. And for an invader with such diverse methods of colonization, multiple eradication efforts seem f
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