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Show Dyer's wood is spreading woe all over Davis County By MARK EDDINGTON Staff Writer BOUNTIFUL Aided by unwitting un-witting property owners and traffic flow along Interstate-15, the noxious nox-ious weed dyer's woad is continuing continu-ing to infest and take control of land all over Davis County. Dyer's woad has been under increasing in-creasing public scrutiny, ever since the weed was placed on the state noxious weed list several years ago, which gave county weed agencies and state agriculture authorities the authority to control the weed. Despite the eradication efforts, dyer's woad continues to spread over much of Utah. Latest estimates show over 175,000 acres in 18 counties are infested with the weed. Dyer's woad is especially bad in Weber, Cache and Morgan counties. In Davis County the problem prob-lem is much less severe but is steadily growing worse. The situation situa-tion is further exacerbated by unwitting unwit-ting homeowners who are captivated cap-tivated by the plant ' s pretty mustard-color blossoms and transplant the weed into their yards and gardens. Before they know it the weed has taken over. Traffic flows along 1-1 5 help spread the seed and make the problem prob-lem even worse, according to ex- Derts at the Utah State University Extension Service's Farmington office. of-fice. County weed control officers estimate between 800 and 900 acres are infested with dyer's woad, with the heaviest concentrations found along bench areas, roadsides and railroad tracks. What makes the pest so persistent is that its roots emit a toxin into the soil directly around the base of the plant, which prevents any seeds from any other plant other than dyer's woad from growing. The plant is also very aggressive, shading or crowding out other plants. "You'll see a pasture with one or two plants in it one year. Next year the pasture will be just covered with them," said Mick Crocket, an assistant assis-tant supervisor at Davis County Weed Control. County efforts to control the plant by spraying have been hampered by near-record rains. It does little good to spray during wet weather because rain will wash the agent off. Some dyer's woad along Pine View Reservoir has been discovered to have a fungus which prevents the plant from producing any seed. Weed control agents have transplanted some of these diseased plants to problem areas in the county, coun-ty, hoping to prevent the further spread of dver's woad. At USU in Logan, work continues con-tinues to isolate and cultivate the I fungus to formulate an effective ' spray for the pesky plant. 1 Shawn Olsen, USU Extension agent at the Farmington office, said the story that the plant was in- troduced to Utah by Mormon pioneers for use as a dye is a myth. ' Dyer's woad first appeared in 1 Brigham City as a contaminant on alfalfa seed imported from out of state. Dyer's woad spread to the United States in the early 1900s as a contaminant con-taminant -on alfalfa seed imported from Ireland. It has since spread to many areas of the country. State agriculture- officials estimate nearly $2 million is lost to dyer's woad every year through reduced crop yields and range land. The Utah Department of Agriculture lists the dyer's woad as the most dangerous of the 18 noxious nox-ious weeds on the state list. A state task force has been formed to control con-trol dyer's woad, Olsen said eradicating the weed is all but impossible now. "Years ago we could have restricted re-stricted and controlled dyer's woad, but now it is probably too late to completely eradicate it," he said. Instead of trying to completely eliminate the plant, Olsen feels the state needs to focus its efforts on hieh Drofile areas. L fL J"? ' mwwr m Its mustard-colored blossoms may be pretty, but dyer's woad is fast becoming a serious problem in Davis County, taking over rangelands and reducing farmer's crop yields.. Latest estimates show the insidious weed costs farmers and property owners more than $2 million each year. f |