Planning the application, calibrating the equipment and mixing herbicide and water preceed actual application.
Hauling equipment, identifying plants, marking the treatment area, putting on safety clothing, attending to the non-target plants and animals, and watching the weather are essential.
Emersed, shoreline, floating and floating-leaved plants are treated with liquid herbicide formulations.
The herbicide-water mixture is sprayed from calibrated handguns directed by the applicator.
In very large applications, aircraft are used.
Here, helicopters apply liquid and granular herbicide formulations.
Effects of herbicide application on Old World climbing vine and melaleuca trees.
Sometimes it takes repeated applications to finally kill these non-native invasive plants.
Submersed granular application into hydrilla. (Algae floats on the top...)
"Time release" granular pellets of herbicide and clay are broadcast from the spreader; pellets sink into the water to the underwater hydrilla.
Submersed liquid application into hydrilla. (Algae floats on the top...)
Connected to the herbicide mixture tank, trailing hoses sink into the water to release the herbicide mixture onto underwater hydrilla.
University students and working applicators seek instruction and continuing education credits from University of Florida faculty members.
The Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society hosts annual four-day meetings during which hundreds of working plant managers partake of all kinds of required instruction.
Even volunteers get into the act of managing non-native invasive plants...
Here a volunteer sprays herbicide onto (terrestrial) air potato vines.
