Duck Weed

[thaipod]

Has anyone had experience in killing off duck weed .I have got it in my orchard waterways and pond , I've had a couple of workers skimming the weed with a net but it;s a losing battle ,after a few day's it seems to double .

I am trying to avoid weed killers .thought about ducks but I think the neighbours dogs will get them or maybe carp

[Pacificperson]

Tilapia love duckweed, but you may have more trouble getting rid them than the duckweed.

Edited July 25, 2011 by Pacificperson

[kennalder]

I had a pond back in Southern Illinois that had duck weed in it. Aeration was the best thing for it. Don't know how practical that is for your situation.

I used a fountain which had a double benefit.

[ozzydom]

Heavy duckweed infestation is usually a result of heavy fertilizer runoff causing high Nitrogen levels in your waterways and channels , as Nitrogen levels decrease ,so does the duckweed.

It is one of the fastest multipliers in the plant world.

But it can also be useful as it is about 45% protein so dried it is good animal food and also makes great mulch.

Maybe try stop fertilising for a while and mulch with the duckweed ,it will die off when rains stop leeching fertilisers into the waterways.

I tried cultivating it as an alternative food for our fish farm but had trouble keeping Nitrogen levels high enough ,n fact it was not cost effective as the cost of the fertiliser was more than the benefits would have been.

You often see blooms of duckweed in the drains and waterways around towns which results from the household liquids putting huge amounts of phosphates and Nitrogen into the drains during the wet season but it dies off quickly after the wet.

[andycrosby]

it sounds like your trying to get rid of something everyone else wants read this

www.alter...fuels.com/biofuelsliquid-biofuel/duckweed-...-biofuels