It spreads rapidly by fragmentation and blocks out sunlight needed for native plant growth often resulting in monotypic stands, threatening the integrity of aquatic communities.ĭense stands of EWM also restrict recreational uses like swimming, boating, and fishing. Once established, EWM reproduces from shoot fragments and runners that creep along the lake bed. EWM is readily moved between waterbodies by boats, motors, trailers, bilges, live wells, or bait buckets, and can live for weeks if kept moist. These shoots may be inadvertently picked up by boaters. The plant produces fragments after fruiting once or twice during the summer. Remember to inspect all your equipment, remove attached plants or animals, drain all the water from your equipment.ĮWM reproduces vegetatively by fragmentation. Becker Lake also has the native clasping leaf pondweed, an important part of our desired aquatic vegetation.Ĭurly-leaf pondweed can spread from turions and plant fragments, so it is important to clean all vegetation off boats and equipment before leaving water access. But be careful with your identification when you harvest. Harvesting generally removes the top 5 feet of the plant. Raking and hand cutting remove plants at the sediment surface, and there is some evidence that early season cutting of pondweed can prevent turion production. Mechanical control includes raking, hand-cutting or harvesting vegetation. Manual/mechanical control efforts should be undertaken in the spring or early summer. For further information on chemical controls, visit the DNR website. Long-term management requires the reduction or elimination of turions to interrupt the lifecycle.ĭepartment of Natural Resources ( DNR) permits are required for chemical treatments, mechanical treatments, and some manual treatments. Once introduced, curly-leaf pondweed spreads rapidly. Maintaining a healthy ecosystem with diverse native aquatic plants and animals as well as minimizing nutrient and pollutant inputs will deter invasions. Curly-leaf pondweed forms surface mats that interfere with aquatic recreation. Additionally, the decaying plants can increase nutrients which contribute to algal blooms. Plant die-offs may result in a substantial loss of dissolved oxygen. This is why it is frequently missed when monitoring for Eurasian water milfoil in mid to late summer. In mid-summer, when most aquatic plants are growing, curly-leaf pondweed plants are dying off. These tolerances allow it to get a head start on and outcompete native plants in the spring. It becomes invasive in some areas because of its tolerance for low light and low water temperatures.
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