Mulch mats a green weed solution

RESEARCHERS at Waterford Institute of Technology have come up with novel mulch mats which will help forestry managers to see their woods from the weeds.

The mulch mats are a clean, green solution to combating weeds in forests without using sprays, and to helping young trees to grow.

A WIT research team, led by Dr Nick McCarthy, pioneered the work on alternatives to herbicides. With the help of funding from the Council for Forestry Research Development they tested the use of mats to suppress weeds.

Results from the trials have shown that the mats are as effective as herbicides in controlling vegetation and their use allows trees to get well established.

Dr McCarthy said: “We achieved good vegetation control using a range of mulch materials in four forest crops, and while the cost of the mulch mats we investigated is more expensive than herbicides, they do have potential.

“We are continuing to pursue this line of research under a new round of [council] funding, with the objective of coming up with workable, cost effective alternatives to current herbicides.”

Welcoming the report, forestry research council director Dr Eugene Hendrick said: “The work done in this project goes some way to addressing this need, and the vegetation management expertise which has been developed at WIT is an important resource for the forestry sector.”