Navigate

Navigate is a 2, 4 D herbicide that can be used to treat a variety of aquatic weeds.  This is a systemic herbicide that will translocate into the root system.  It is effective on Eurasian water milfoil, stargrass, water lilies, water shield, and much more.  Navigate should be applied in the spring and early summer when the weeds first begin to grow.  One 50 pound bag can treat a 1/2 acre pond. 

         



Water Shield



Naiads

Naiads are an annual, freshwater aquatic plant.  Its leaves are 1” long and very narrow.  Leaves are arranged in a whirl around the stem in groups of three.  Stems grow 10” to 25” in length.  Naiads can grow completely submerged or form floating mats.  It will reproduce through seeds or by fragmentation. 

You should begin treating naiads as soon as the plants begin growing under the surface and once the water temperature is above 60 degrees.  A granular herbicide can be sprinkled into the water to treat the submersed weed while a liquid herbicide can be sprayed onto the floating mats.  Reward and Hydrothol 191 are both effective in controlling naiads. 

Hydrothol 191

Hyrothol 191 is a broad spectrum algaecide and herbicide (salt of endothall).  This product is a good alternative to using copper products.  It is available in liquid or granular forms to control both floating and submersed aquatic weeds and algae.  It quickly dissipates in the environment and will not bioaccumulate in fish or soil.  Hydrothol 191 has a half-life of less than one week.  It will not harm fish or wildlife and can be used to control hydrilla, milfoil, pond weeds, elodea, chara, spirogyra, and pithophora.  It is effective in turbid water because it will not bind to suspended sediment. 

Water Stargrass:

Water Stargrass is so named for the star shaped flowers that rise above the water’s surface.  It has grass-like stems with thin branches.  These stems can grow up to six feet long and form floating colonies.  This aquatic plant reproduces through seeds and fragmentation.  Small pieces of stems can break off, lay dormant under mud, and then sprout in the spring.  The floating colonies provide an important habitat for macro and micro invertebrates.  These invertebrates an important in the food chain for fish, amphibians, and water fowl. 

Water Stargrass can grow in shallow water in streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes.  It can also grow in mud banks and in water with high salinity.  It can even grow on land if stems are washed ashore.  This plant can be controlled using Reward herbicide. 

Anabaena:

Anabaena is a type of cyanobacteria that contains over 40 species.  It can live in waters with a diverse range of temperatures and salinity.  Anabaena is a well studied organism in the scientific community due to its formation of specialized cells.  These are cells called heterocysts which are vegetative cells that have lost the ability to photosynthesize.  However, they have gained the ability to fix nitrogen in low oxygen conditions.  It is a colonial organism that forms long chains called trichomes which reproduce by fragmentation.

Anabaena form symbiotic relationships with other species of plants.  In a symbiotic relationship, both the host organism and the occupant organism benefit from each other.  Anabaena lives inside of other plants where it is protected from predation.   The host plant is benefitted by this because the Anabaena can fix nitrogen that the plant can then use for protein formation and the creation of nucleic acids and other cellular constitutes.  Plants that may contain anabaena are ferns, liverworts, and angiosperms (flowering plants).  While Anabaena can benefit plants, it can be harmful to animal species that drink water contaminated with the cyanobacteria.  Because of this, Anabaena should be controlled with Cutrine Ultra algaecide. 

Pithophora

Pithophora is a type of filamentous algae that thrives in shallow ponds high in nitrogen and phosphorus.  It is bright green or brown in color and can form dense mats at the surface of the pond. It can be one of the most difficult types of algae to control.  In heavy wind or rain, the algal mats will sink to the bottom and then float back to the top.  Pithophora floats by trapping air bubbles at the surface where it forms tangled clumps that resemble cotton or wool.  This algae can be treated with a diquat herbicide, applied at a rate of 1-2 gallons per surface acre. 

     

Diptera:

The order Diptera contains the True Flies.  A true fly has one single pair of wings on the thorax; two pairs of wings would put the fly into different insect families.  This order contains over 240,000 species including the mosquito, gnats, and midges.  As the ice on top of your pond melts, you may notice the tiny macroinvertebrate larvae of the true flies in the water.  This should not alarm you.  These larvae, including mosquito larvae, are a very important part of the food chain in the pond’s ecosystem.  Fish fry, tadpoles, and other organisms will all consume these as a major part of their diet.