By Charlene Tebbutt

Local conference tackles issues around weeds, pests

Jun 29, 2018 | 2:00 PM

A conference in Prince Albert earlier this week looked at invasive weeds and what can be done to help farmers, municipal representatives and residents stop them from spreading.

The conference happened Tuesday and included discussions on weed management, best practices for working in infested areas, weed control, insects and control of invasive plants. The North Sask. River Basin Council worked with the South Sask River Basin Council and SaskEnergy to host the conference.

Annette Smith, agri-environmental technician with the council, said the event was a chance to provide education on issues around invasive species and pests, both for rural municipalities and urban areas.

“A lot of the weeds, they don’t stop at private roads, it’s on private land as well,” Smith told farmnewsNOW. “It’s a challenge for everybody.”

Smith said invasive weeds can have huge environmental impacts and education and awareness is important. There are numerous ways weeds can be spread, Smith said, from mowing, quadding and walking, to animal tracks and moving dirt. For example, researchers are considering adding Himalayan Balsam to the list of invasive species. 

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Smith said chemicals to treat weeds can be very expensive, although other controls, such as certain types of beetles or sheep and goats, can help curb the spread.

“It can cause a huge economic loss if it gets into a grasslands pasture, where people are pasturing cattle, the cattle will eat some of these invasive weeds,” Smith said.

“But if it gets into a pasture it can take over 80 per cent of a pasture and make it non-palatable, non-usable.”

Beryl Wait, invasive species coordinator with the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre, spoke at the conference about the use of mobile and web-based apps to track the spread of weeds. Wait said producers can use apps and Internet sites to record photos and information about weeds and pests they encounter in their fields.

“We can’t be everywhere … dealing with a potential problem, the earlier you detect it, the sooner you can deal with it,” Wait said. “We appreciate anybody using it and documenting what’s out there, it all adds to our database.”  

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt