UMaine Weed Researchers Dig for Ways to Help Small-Scale Farmers
Contact: Eric Gallandt, 581-2933
ORONO — For home gardeners, weeds are a nuisance, but for small-scale growers, they can threaten crops and profitability by sucking up time, labor and money. Though the number of such farmers has grown nationwide, weed-management technology hasn’t kept up.
UMaine associate professor of weed ecology and management Eric Gallandt and a team of university researchers have made it their mission to help small growers who plant diversified crops in Maine. They take a systemic approach to weed management by focusing on the ways in which growers address the seed bank–the seeds at the soil surface and the seeds incorporated in the soil.
In the past, Gallandt has researched microbial decay of seeds in the soil, looking for conditions that may accelerate seed loss, but without much success. He’s currently working with small farmers to find ways to manipulate the environment so that there are fewer weed seeds in the soil to begin with.
Gallandt and his team also spent last summer researching the effectiveness of the Weed Master, an innovative Finnish machine that’s best described as a small, human-powered tractor. The device combines the best aspects of hand tools–lightweight, small, portable–with the versatility and add-ons of a tractor.
Gallandt wanted to know if a machine like this would benefit Maine farmers, and he received a grant from the Maine Agriculture Center to import and test a Weed Master and tools such as a flame weeder. A Summer 2010 UMaine Today magazine article has full details on the research and results.
For those without access to such modern and expensive equipment, however, Gallandt says innovation is as important as ever. He says he and his research team will continue to work with farmers to find affordable, effective options–including modern interpretations of classic hand tools. Gallandt can be reached at (207) 581-2933.