Laserfiche WebLink
Spray Weeds With Vinegar? / May 15, 2002 / News from the USDA Agricultural Research Service <br />Page I of 2 <br />M Printable Version s= Email this page <br />News & Events <br />Mein ARS Site <br />EnterKey"rda Go; Spray Weeds With Vinegar? <br />United States Department of Agriculture R, ;; ae <br />C 6 Agricultural Research Service <br />(hr, il? howiw vc?vof? i-n in of tho, dISOA ATI, <br />I Horne.About Us Resuaich Products & Services People & Places Partnering Caieeis Contact Us Help <br />Advanced Search By Don Comis <br />News 8L Events May 15, 2002 <br />P News & Events Home <br />t, News Some home gardeners already use vinegar as a herbicide, and <br />News by e-mail some garden stores sell vinegar pesticides. But no one has tested <br /> it scientifically until now. <br />.• News archive <br />o• magazine Agricultural Research Service scientists offer the first scientific <br />t. Image Gallery evidence that it may be a potent weedkiller that is inexpensive <br />a video and environmentally safe--perfect for organic farmers. <br />a Briefing Room ARS researchers Jay Radhakrishnan, John R. Teasdale and Ben <br />e Press Room Coffman in Beltsville, Md., tested vinegar on major weeds-- <br />t• Events common lamb's-quarters, giant foxtail, velvetleaf, smooth pigweed <br />> Search News & Events <br />and Canada thistle--in greenhouse and field studies. <br />Noticlas en espaRoi They hand-sprayed the weeds with various solutions of vinegar, <br />\ uniformly coating the leaves. The researchers found that 5- and <br /> 10-percent concentrations killed the weeds during their first two <br /> weeks of life. Older plants required higher concentrations of <br /> vinegar to kill them. At the higher concentrations, vinegar had an <br /> 85- to 100-percent kill rate at all growth stages. A bottle of <br /> household vinegar is about a 5-percent concentration. <br />Canada thistle, one of the most tenacious weeds in the world, <br />proved the most susceptible; the 5-percent concentration had a <br />100-percent kill rate of the perennial's top growth. The 20-percent <br />http://w",.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2002/020515.htm 6/20/2005