Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants weed control plan?

I would like to find out if this would be a sound plan for weed prevention this year. First I would like to dye the lake with Aquashade or something similar early in the season. Install an aeration system, then spot treat for weeds with Navaigate or some other granular 2-4, D product. Will this help control surface algae? Will this help with my Eurasian Millfoil, coontail and duckweed? By July in previous years the Millfoil is so thick, it covers approx. 75% of the surface water. Or would I be better off waiting untill the first sign of weedgrowth and hitting it with a herbicide, then dying the pond? All input is appreciated!

dont use dyes if you are interested in fish production. pond dye will not control duckweed. Diquat (label name Reward) is excellent on all the weeds you mentioned. If you start early and appy 1-2 gallons per surface acre when weeds begin to grow. diquat offers the most bang for your buck. its a contact herbicide so the weeds have to be present and growing for it to work.

I'm a professional applicator in Georgia and use diquat often. BE SURE TO READ THE LABEL and wear gloves and a face shield. I once got some vapor in my nose while spraying on a windy day. the diquat will eat up the soft lining of your nose bad. I had nose bleeds for 2 weeks.

SHAN

Jason, I agree with Shan, but Navigate is also an excellent product for certain situations. It is ideal for spot treating Eurasian Watermilfoil and Coontail at rates of 100-200 pounds per surface acre, and since it is granular, you can just spread it over the areas you want to control.

Duckweed is a tougher nut to crack. If you tank mix 1 part Cutrine Plus & 2 parts Reward, plus non-ionic surfactant and apply at the rate of 1-2 gallons per surface acre, you will get some control of both surface algae and duckweed.

You may want to think about some preventative measures to cut down on the chemicals. If possible, prevent run-off from directly entering your pond. We recommend a buffer zone around ponds composed of deep rooted native plants, like sedges. This creates permeable soil that will soak up some of the run-off. Also, do not apply lawn fertilizers, or at least use zero phosphate brands. Aerate to help the pond process the nutrients. Some types of aeration can also help with surface algae & duckweed. If possible, rake out mats of algae and weeds to cut down on the amount of organic matter in the pond. Establish good native vegetation in and around the pond. Examples are water lilies, bulrush, wild celery (aka eelgrass). Don't kill off all your Coontail, because this is a native weed that helps the pond process its nutrients.

Those are just a few things you can do to cut down on nuisance weeds and algae. They may not all be applicable to your situation, but they should give you an idea of how to approach your problem.

Thanks for the information guys! Very helpful suggestions. One point that Mike made regarding deep rooted plants for a run off filtration strip I would like to explore. I have spoke with Bill Cody about this issue, and would like to get your input as well. I have a field tile that runs directly into the pond. Obviously the run off from the field directly into my pond is not a good thing. The area that the tile runs into used to be four feet deep, now it is about two with heavy muck in the bottom. The farmer has offered to sell me five acres to help filter the run off, but with the prices of land in my area I would like to try a less expensive approach. Bill suggested possibly diverting the tile or digging a retention area where the tile runs into the pond to make a staging area for the run off before it goes directly into the pond. Now would be the time to do this because I have some heavy equipment working on construction out there now. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Jason,

I cant help much here. I manage lakes but dont build them. find lakedoc on an old post and drop him an email. he seems to know his stuff when it comes to construction. also Mike Robinson has posted some great info about marginal plants .

I have seen some small ponds/wetlands like you are describing and all have worked very well for filtering unwanted nutrients. I once did some water testing at a waste water treatment plant and those guys had what I can best describe as a floating barge of water plants in the waste logoons to help reduce nutrients. So I think you are on the right track.

Jason, that sounds like a good idea. There are a few ways that you can approach it. Probably the easiest would be to put in a sedimentation pond. If you really wanted to get the water clean, you could start some aquatic vegetation growing, like Muskgrass or Coontail. Otherwise, a constructed wetland would be great, but there are many challenges in design, construction & maintenance. Below is a link to a government site with a bunch of info on some of these ideas:

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/watershed/UrbanBMPs/water.html

Most of the info you'd be interested in is in section E.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the input guys! Looks like I have a little research to do. Thanks for the link Mike, great information there, seems a little overwhelming now, I will just have to "filter" it out.