ROADSIDE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT

Roadsides accumulate road runoff upwards to 50 feet from splashing and mist. This means that substances applied to the surface of the road wind up effecting nearby soil health and plant growth.

MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE

Mag Chloride is a liquid salt product applied to roads surfaces to control snow / ice or prevent dust. Applied to the road surface it does a very good job, and at a reasonable cost, but once off the area of application it can become a nightmare. It is a highly corrosive element to machinery degrading metal, plastic, rubber, paint and a host of other surfaces. Once off the road and on to the shoulder it begins to degrade the soil structure by shutting off air exchange and suffocating vegetation by coating the leaves. Plants of the higher order which need air exchange in the soils begin to die off and plants off the lower order which thrive in dying soils become dominant. Lower order plants are most often alkaloid, toxin producers or of high fiber and low energy (aka) weeds.

SOLUTION

The best way to help affected soils is to degrade the Magnesium Chloride in the spring of the year along the roadsides with a special spray, while the soil is still moist and barren. This can break the grip of (Mag Chloride) soil suffocation, soften and allow a healthier soil structure to rebuild and give higher order plants a chance to compete. These now stronger plant communities can now possibly dominate over the weeds, thus helping break the " road side" weed corridor syndrome.

WHAT TO USE

The element Calcium in the correct form is the magic bullet that will degrade this secondary impact of creating roadside weed corridors caused by Mag Chloride. This application should be seriously considered by all highway managers in the attempt to gain control of the escalating weed problem. Since this is a non- hazardous application, but a soil amendment that will have no negative impact to the area, and a positive one on the environment. This should be a regular spring time application. An impact that I can fore see is the quality of vegetation may increase the beauty of the landscape along the roadsides and lower herbicide use and costs.

COST

The blended product would cost (+/-) $20.00 per acre annually, application costs. (Cost is relative to the blend and volume used).