The Press-Dispatch
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A-6 Local Wednesday, March 7, 2018 The Press-Dispatch Kiwanis Saturday, Mar. 10 6 p.m. to ?? We play the old-fashioned way. Shutter cards are furnished. Come and Go as You Please! Come Help Us Help Our Kids! NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENTS AND NO SMOKING IN THE BUILDING. INDIANA GAMING LICENSE # 125109 Play for Cash!!! FOOD & DRINKS AVAILABLE at the VFW in Petersburg. PETERSBURG ELEMENTARY Annual Carnival Friday, March 9 5-9pm Come ONE, Come ALL! Open to the Public GAMES • INFLATABLES • SILENT AUCTION • RAFFLES CAKE WALK • CORN HOLE TOURNEY • FOOD • PHOTOS BIG SURPRISE FOR SILENT AUCTION ITEM ANNOUNCED FRIDAY e numbers will be given out in the office for $1 and the bidding will start March 5 for the silent auction. ey will also be sold the night of the carnival. All auction items will be on display at the school starting March 5. ere are tons of silent auction items you will not want to miss out on! Bring your friends, bring your family. Fun for everyone! Pregnant... or think you are? Call:1-877-257-1084 or Locally Call: 1-812-354-2814 • Free pregnancy testing • Free counseling and info. on pregnancy options. • Confi dential counseling for women & men who are suff ering from post-abortion syndrome. • Residential Care • Health and assistance referrals. • Training and education. • Assistance in getting baby and maternity clothes washpcc@sbcglobal.net www.washingtonpregnancycenter.com Weed management important in ponds as spring approaches By Kenneth J. Eck County Extension Director Purdue Extension – Pike County With spring right around the corner, ma- ny folks are starting to again look at their farm pond or lake. Whether used for fish- ing, swimming, or watering horses or live- stock, this valuable water resource should be checked for weed concerns where vege- tation appears to be getting out of control. Vegetation in some form is a valuable part of a healthy pond or lake system, with plants providing a variety of benefits. Plants provide oxygen for non-plant resi- dents of the deep. All pond creatures, in- cluding insects, fish, birds, and mammals, depend on plants for food sources or eat something else that does eat plants. The biomass stabilizes shorelines and bottom sediment, and intercepts and slows waves hitting shore. Plants also simply add to the beauty of a lake, breaking up an otherwise uniform surface with texture and color. In too large of an amount, however, aquatic vegetation can cause problems that will eventually need to be corrected. Ex- cess plants can choke spillways and ditch- es; impair fishing, boating, and swimming; reduce oxygen levels as plants die (caus- ing large fish kills); change water quali- ty or taste; harbor mosquitoes; trap too much sediment; and out-compete native plants. As with anything in life, modera- tion is the key with the right amount and type of vegetation being needed in a sta- ble pond environment. The plants that lead to most problems can be divided into general plant groups, with treatment options unique for each group. No one control or aquatic herbicide will control all weeds, so figuring out to which group a plant belongs is key to its eventual control. Algae are simple, non-flowering plants that may come in several forms. Micro- scopic algae can cause a blue-green, red, black, or brown "scum" or "oil" across a pond surface, and often is found when ex- cessive nutrients come into a pond. Mat- forming algae form mossy patches that may take over entire sections of a pond. Chara, or stonewort, is found in ponds with hard water and has a musky smell, and somewhat resembles other pond weeds that are rooted. For flowering (non-algae) plants, there are four groups of plants – submerged, free-floating, rooted floating, and emer- gent. Each have different growth habits and require their own management tech- niques when control is needed. Submerged plants are those rooted to the bottom that grow up through the wa- ter and have flowers which might emerge through the surface. They are mainly iden- tified by the number of leaves at each joint and the shape of their leaves, and frequent- ly have a "bottle-brush" appearance. Com- mon members of this group include coon- tail, naiads, watermilfoil, elodea, hydrilla, and pondweed. Plants that float on the surface but are not rooted in the soil are known as free- floating plants, and include watermeal and duckweed. Both are extremely small (1/8 to 1/4 inch) and often resemble small green seeds. When they completely cover a lake they have the ability to shade out de- sirable plants, causing a drop in oxygen in deeper waters. They usually are a result of nutrient-rich water. Rooted-floating plants include waterlil- ies, watershield, spatterdock, and Amer- ican pondweed, and have underground stems (rhizomes) from which new plants sprout while leaves and flowers float on the surface. All can provide valuable wildlife habitat in appropriate amounts, but can cause challenges when allowed to grow out of control. Cattails, reeds, spikerush, bulrush, pur- ple loosestrife, willow, and creeping water primrose are members of the final group – emergent plants. This group has most of its vegetation above the water, with the plants rooted usually near the shoreline. Many of these plants spread by under- ground rhizomes as well as by seeds. Aquatic weeds can be controlled through several means, with a combina- tion of several methods usually being the most effective. First, take steps to prevent weeds and invasives from coming into local bodies of water. Clean off boats and equipment be- fore bringing these items into your pond or lake. Never dump exotic aquarium spe- cies near a water body where they can take root. Where weeds are becoming a problem, consider mechanical control with rakes or harvesters. This usually works best in smaller patches of vegetation that can be easily reached from shore, although some plant roots or parts might be left behind to propagate future plants. The use of grass carp can help with some aquatic species, although the fish have preferences for certain types of weeds over others. These fish can live for 15 to 20 years, but will vary greatly in the amount of vegetation they consume as they age. Keep all nutrients and livestock away from ponds and lakes to reduce the un- wanted growth of some species. Maintain grass cover around ponds and lakes to re- duce the chance of sediment and nutrients from entering, and try not to fertilize lawns close to bodies of water. Establish settling ponds upstream to trap extra sediment and nutrients when possible. For chemical control of aquatic weeds, first identify the plant and plant group in which the species is found. Many chem- icals will only control one (or two) plant groups while leaving other groups un- harmed, which can actually help the land- owner better manage desirable plants while removing nuisance or invasive spe- cies. A listing of chemical controls is in- cluded in the publication listed below. Landowners should carefully read the product label for any aquatic herbicides to be applied, considering listed plants that will be controlled as well as specific effects on fish and times until water can be used for irrigation and drinking for humans or livestock. First time applicators should consider purchasing products from busi- nesses whose staff are licensed applica- tors if additional information on the prod- ucts is needed. For additional information on dealing with aquatic vegetation challenges (includ- ing color photos for pond weed identifica- tion and herbicide suggestions), check out the free Purdue publication "Aquatic Vegetation Management: Identifying and Managing Aquatic Vegetation" at http:// bit.ly/2oSrJoZ. Mat-forming algae in a residential lake. Pinewood derby winners The Petersburg Cub Scouts had their annual Pinewood Derby competition Saturday at the VFW. Tyler Mason placed third, Trenton Stone won first place and Taylor Russell was third. Damion Obrian won Most Unusual. Tyler Mason was selected Cub Master's Choice. Christopher Martinez was selected Most Unique Cutout. Taylor Russell won Best Paint Job. net edition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet Streamline the Headline! 812-354-8500 • 820 Poplar St., Petersburg, IN • ads@pressdispatch.net