What are herbicides

Many gardeners face weed control when working on their plots. The topic is relevant to all types and compositions of soils, because weeds grow everywhere. But there is little sense in them - they only drain the land. Manually fighting them is not an easy task! There is one more misfortune, no less severe, - it is a growth. How to deal with these enemies with chemical weapons, and I will tell in this article ...

What are herbicides?

Herbicides (the mis-spelling of herbicides) are chemicals designed to help combat unwanted vegetation. That is, these substances stop and prevent the growth of plants - either of a certain type or of all. Depending on such selectivity, there are absolute herbicides and selective (select) herbicides. Herbicides of continuous action are used more often in industrial construction, when it is necessary to clear the area of ​​deforestation from vegetation, to eliminate all vegetation on airfields, under power lines and other important objects. Well, selective herbicides are more often used in gardening, both by amateur gardeners and farmers for planting, and even by authorities to fight the spread of drugs! =) They say that such substances were sprayed from airplanes over hemp fields to prevent its further spread. Such a division into continuous and selective herbicides is quite figurative in its essence. In most cases, the concentration of the drug affects this very selectivity. You will dissolve in the thicker - kirdyk to all living things, more weakly - only non-cultivated plants will die out. And if the consistency is small, you can only accelerate the growth of the plant! Yes, yes, it will turn out as a medicine for the plant, because everyone knows that poisons in small doses are widely used in medicine for the treatment of various diseases. And just overdo it - and hello =)

What are herbicides used for?

As I have already said, many gardeners face the problem of weed control when working on their plots. Another problem for novice gardeners is Sprouts. Personally, from this single word, I am already beginning to penetrate anger and indignation! =) As far as I can remember, every summer we dig up clouds of these rhizomes from the whole garden, cut them off, pull them out, saw off aaaa how many things have already been tried, that we should write a separate article =)

How do herbicides work?

So, as we have already found out, herbicides are used for easier weed control. According to the ideas of their authors, you only need to spray the area with a solution of a herbicide and you can forget about weeds! Having settled on the leaves, the substance penetrates into the very depths of the plant - its root - and kills it there, at the root! This is called herbicide of internal action. By the way, herbicides are both internal and external (contact) actions that destroy only above-ground vegetation. The benefits of such herbicides are questionable, therefore they are not so popular. So how do herbicides work at a biological level? Penetrating deep into the plant (in its cells), the substance either decomposes into toxic compounds that kill the plants, or does not decompose at all. Depending on the resistance of plants, it can be blocked by the cell and decompose into non-toxic compounds, or not be blocked and, as a result, inhibit the plant, preventing its growth. As I already wrote, there are contact and systemic herbicides. Contact with their contact with living tissue of the plant, act immediately and outright - the plant soon fades, because tissues are affected. But systemic drugs act differently - they rush through the vessels (stalks) to the root system and kill it entirely. This property is especially valuable for the control of perennial weeds with an extensive root system.

Are herbicides harmful to humans?

This question pops into the head of any gardener who has just learned about miracle preparations that act only on weeds. I myself am wary of any chemistry and try to use it as little as possible on the site, so that I can eat and not be afraid of poisoning. But if you believe the scientific articles about herbicides, most of these substances are moderately and slightly toxic to humans and animals. But there are also quite dangerous compounds, for example, DNOC and sodium pentachlorophenolate. Also, scientists say that, when diluted, herbicides are active for a maximum of about a few weeks, and then they decompose and neutralize. But, again, some substances in large doses of application can persist for quite some time. In any case, when working with herbicides should observe safety precautions. It is necessary to work in gloves, respirator and follow all precautions.

How to apply herbicides in the garden?

As a rule, doses of application are painted on the package with the means. For different cultures, they are different. That is, this involves spraying the beds, say, with cucumbers, in which all the weeds go away and the cucumbers remain. But I would not recommend doing so. Personally, I think that it is necessary to use herbicides very carefully and only to combat very difficult-to-remove weeds or very boring shoots. If, nevertheless, decide on spraying, you should, if possible, cover with useful paper or paper useful plants so that the poison does not get on them. So, let us consider the application on the example of the struggle with the numerous undergrowth of cherries, which have flooded my garden. Dilute herbicide in the maximum specified dosage for the complete destruction of vegetation in a small container (for example, a small bucket from under the garden whitewash). I used the most common roundup herbicide, but there are others.

Using Roundup Topically

To exclude the ingress of harmful substances to other plants, I did not spray the garden with this substance, but acted differently - I used a paint brush. Thus, I ensured that the substance got on the piece of sprouts I needed, eliminating useful and not so much interfering plants that can be pulled out by simple weeding. To combat overgrowth, I tried two methods - cutting the tops of the overgrowth and smearing the slices and stems with a solution of a herbicide; and simply spreading the whole bush, including every leaf. What is better - time will tell, but I processed all the shoots on my site this way. Coincidence, but on the same day, I accidentally found on the veranda some kind of bottle with an incomprehensible yellowish liquid. I decided that it was rotten water and it needed to be emptied, well, I began to pour the bottle, "watering" a mint bush growing not far from the house. But by the smell, I sensed that it was not water, but gasoline used for a lawnmower, but it was too late =) Looking through the time at the place where gasoline was spilled, I was surprised - half of the bush and the weeds around were very shrinking, blackened and almost not decomposed! "Here it is - the most effective herbicide," - I thought =). Gasoline simply burned alive the visible part of the plant on which it fell, but how the root system is doing there will be known only the next time.

Gasoline - Contact Herbicide

But for information, you can remember that you can fight with a bored plant with gasoline too =) But I think that it is no less toxic, so if you use it, use it with caution! =))

Three days have passed since the anointing of the shoots with roundup, the flight is normal. So far, no change in the growth of overgrown - she did not even turn yellow. Let's see what will happen in three days.

3 days after the roundup

Four more days have passed and the results are already noticeable! This garbage, hike, works! Well, see for yourself the photos of the same long-suffering shoots:

Roundup action in a week