Vol. 15—1961 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

441.
We are looking forward to the day when a growth retardant
will be availnble and proven for our usc.
Now lot us consider the hazards which go along with herbicido
operations. There is of course misdirected application
which may occur, although with skilled operators we should not
«xpec tit. There is the hazard of drift which is a very r-calone
especially in an area such as ours where the wind soems to be
blowing more than 15 miles an hour almost every day we want to
sprRY. I think we all recognize that tho factors here are wind
velocity, pressure, nozzles, and susceptibility. There is the
hazard of volatility, with the contributing factors of wind,
tumperature, humidity and susceptibility. With certain of our
matcria:s such as the relatively insoluble soil sterilants there
is tho hazard of washing beyond the area treated, with the factors
of vegetative cover, soil typejrainfall, and concentration to be
considered. Finally there is the hazar'd of the leaching of soil
sterilants with the factors of soil type, rainfall, and concentration.
In addition to those normal hazards which we all must faco
thore are errors of judgment, or should we say differences in
opinion. Those of us with some experience with brush control
abhor the term "brownout
ll
with all that it implies of public and
official criticism. Foliage spraying of brush is an effective
and economical tool under certain conditions. We cannot afford
to discard it, but tho supervisor must know how far he may go
with this tool for a specific location. If he does not exceed a
reasonable application ("reasonable" not only to his superiors
but to t~e vocal clement of the public) his judgment is good.
Granted the .supervisor may succeed for years in using good judgment
but let there be one unhappy case of unfavorable public
reaction or unfavorable opinion on the part of an important
official and the whole program may be adversely affected.
-
There is a field of argument about tho definition of the
word "weed". Not long ago at a convention of a national group of
some importance a naturalist criticised severely the use of
herbicides on the last remaining places where the native flora
of our country might be found and studied. He WD.S referring to
wild flowers on our- roadsides. Is chicory on highway shoul_ders
or drainageways a wild flower or a weed? Within our own orgRD­
Lza tion we know the answor. We mow ·these ar-oa s and so the hrllhicide
treatment of them is no more destructive thun mow l ng ,
However we are acutely conscious of tho unfl1vornbln publ:i.c.1ty
possible due to even such ill advised criticism.