Palmer Amaranth
A new noxious weed has emerged in Ohio called Palmer amaranth. Palmer amaranth looks like many pigweed species and can reach a height of 6-8 feet tall and is extremely competitive and aggressive. Sprague, 2011 at Michigan State reports: Palmer amaranth has a rapid growth rate (up to 2.5 inches per day), high drought tolerance, and high seed production (40,000 seeds per plant), has the ability to cross pollinate with other pigweed species and it has developed herbicide resistance (roundup and/or ALS). Palmer amaranth has smooth stems and leaves with no hairs that help to distinguish it from redroot pigweed, smooth pigweed, and Powell amaranth. OSU Weed Scientist Dr. Mark Loux (CORN Newsletter) writes: The epicenter for new Palmer amaranth infestations is in an area southwest of Columbus, bordered roughly by Midway on the north and Washington CH on the south. There is a dairy in the area that has been using cottonseed products for protein feed from the south, so try to avoid import...