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Author(s)
Dr. Christopher Nowak
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Herbicides have been widely used to control vegetation on roadside rights-of-way because they are perceived as more cost effective than other treatments. However, as knowledge of environmental systems has developed along with a growing social perception of health and environmental issues, a need for alternative methods to herbicide use for vegetation control along roadsides has become a prominent issue. As many organizations are also looking into innovative control methods, it is important to gather and review information generated throughout the industry. An annotated bibliography of non-herbicide alternative treatments to control roadside vegetation was developed based upon a review of the literature conducted from January 2004 through February 2005. Electronic search engines for Internet, journal, and library databases were searched using various keywords. Select literature was formatted into an annotated bibliography, searchable database, and glossary. A total of 81 references were found during the literature search. A large number of references were found in each of various categories of weed control (biological—n=21; chemical— n=18; and physical—n=26) and vegetation management tactics (cultural—n=14), and some references on weed prevention (n=5). Many of the non-herbicide alternatives presented in the references found during this literature search have already been tested, are currently under testing, or are under consideration by NYSDOT. Some new prevention and control measures were found in the literature review that may warrant testing, including mulches, soil solidifiers, natural herbicides, and mycoherbicide.

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