Fungi eyed to tackle weedy menace of american west
Thursday, September 25, 2014 - 05:40
in Mathematics & Economics
Russian thistle, Salsola tragus (tumbleweed), has become an icon of the American West since arriving in the 1870s as a flax seed contaminant. Make no mistake, though: The weed is a menace. It outcompetes crops, clogs irrigation ditches, spreads insect pests, and even poses a driving hazard. The latter happens when the weed's top portion breaks off the main stem and is blown onto roads, obscuring driver vision and potentially causing accidents.