A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service webinar from 6-7 p.m. Aug. 23 will cover the identification and management of shoreline plants in ponds.
The webinar will provide a how-to program focused on identification of the most common emergent aquatic plants, or shoreline plants, found around Texas ponds and how to avoid common mistakes made when trying to control them.
Brittany Chesser, AgriLife Extension aquatic vegetation program specialist in the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Bryan-College Station, will present the program.
“Emergent plants prefer to be wet but not fully submerged, like cattails,” she said. “This discussion is timely because late summer to fall is a good time to treat these aquatic plant species, and that gives us some time to prepare.”
Registration is $35. Instructions to access the webinar will be emailed when payment is received. The email will include a receipt, registration confirmation and instructions for accessing the webinar.
This program offers one Texas Department of Agriculture integrated pest management continuing education unit.
Identify, control shoreline plants
Chesser will start by defining true emergent aquatic plants and how they differ from terrestrial plant species. The course will then cover the identifying characteristics of the top 10 emergent plants commonly found around the shoreline of Texas ponds.
Chesser will briefly discuss the plant varieties’ biology and how the plants play a role in the pond’s ecosystem and whether management is necessary.
Chesser will provide specific management strategies, including mechanical, biological and chemical, as well as establishing other plant varieties as a control option, depending on control methods applicable for each grouping. She will then discuss the timing of treatments and common mistakes in relation to management.
Registrants are encouraged to submit photos of emergent plants in their ponds for discussion. Photos should be high quality and emailed to brittany.chesser@tamu.edu by 5 p.m. Aug. 15. A guide to taking photos is also available to help attendees.
“The photos are good to incorporate in the presentation and help connect the plant to the problem in a pond,” she said.
The hour-long presentation will be followed with an approximately 30-minute question-and-answer session with Chesser.
“The goal is to help pond owners hit the sweet spot to control these plants because mistakes waste time and money, but they can also make things worse,” Chesser said. “Not every shoreline plant needs to be managed. They can be a good nutrient buffer or prevent erosion, so it is good to identify these plants and take care of nuisances, but also avoid opening up an area for other more aggressive nuisance plants to move in.”
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