Dr. Mark Czarnota presented a comprehensive overview of weed control strategies for landscape and nursery professionals, organized around three primary approaches: physical removal, physical barriers, and chemical weed control. He covered weed identification, life cycles, and the six characteristics that predict weediness, then discussed physical methods including tillage, flame weeding, and mulching, as well as biological control successes with grass carp, goats, and the thistle weevil.
The bulk of the presentation focused on chemical control, covering pre-emergent versus post-emergent herbicides, selective versus non-selective products, and key product recommendations including Dimension (dithiopyr) and Marengo (indaziflam). Czarnota reviewed herbicide modes of action, application best practices, and glyphosate safety data, concluding with audience questions on torpedograss, Virginia buttonweed, and bermudagrass control in ornamentals.
