An invasive plant has been found in Guthrie County.

 

Guthrie County Extension and Outreach Field Agronomist Michael Witt says Palmer Amaranth was recently discovered in a local farmfield.

 

Witt will host an informational meeting Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Extension office in Guthrie Center, to talk more about how the plant got here, how to identify it, its biology, infestation levels across Iowa and how to manage it. The plant poses no danger to humans or animals but it is notoriously difficult to get rid of.

 

Witt empathizes with farmers upset about the plant discovery. “A lot of individuals are upset that this weed has made its way into Iowa as much as it has, and that’s okay. It’s okay to be upset. But, it’s here and we have to understand that we can’t change the fact that it’s here, right now. We need to come into this meeting and look at solutions to the problem, and look at moving forward now that it’s here, instead of just wishing it wasn’t here. For me, that’s really what the meeting is about — getting information out to the public so we can move forward, instead of moving back.”

 

Witt will tell us more about Palmer Amaranth and Wednesday’s meeting today on Let’s Talk Guthrie County. It airs during the 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. hours on K107.9 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.