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Water Chestnut Alert!
Thanks to an alert Courtesy Boat Inspector in Unity, a water chestnut was discovered and removed from a boat that was going to enter Unity Pond. What is water chestnut? The water chestnut, Trapa natans, is an invasive, exotic, aquatic plant. This non-native species is an extremely prolific annual that moves in and dominates an area, forming dense, impenetrable surface mats that can severely limit recreation and habitat. Water chestnut harms wetlands, beaches, sluggish rivers and streams. The water chestnut is spread by the chestnuts (seeds) which have small Velcro-like hooks. The seeds germinate in early spring. An individual seed can give rise to ten to fifteen rosettes, each of which can produce fifteen to twenty seeds. Thus, one seed can produce 300 new seeds in a single year. Water chestnuts begin to flower in mid to late July and nuts will ripen approximately one month later. Flowering and seed production continue into the fall when frost kills the floating rosettes. The mature nuts sink to the bottom when dropped and can remain viable for up to eight to twelve years. The plant spreads either by the rosettes detaching from their stems and floating to another area, or more often by the nuts being swept by currents or waves to other parts of a lake or stream. The plant over-winters entirely by seed. Water chestnut is controlled by mechanical harvesting and hand pulling. This inhibits its growth provided that the work occurs in the summer before the nuts have a chance to mature and drop off the plant. Once an area has been cleared of water chestnut, maintenance harvesting is necessary to keep the area clear. Once water chestnut is pulled or cut, removal and disposal away from water is essential to prevent re-establishment of the plants. Control programs and individual efforts can be successful in reducing and controlling infestation. Public agency control efforts, as well as increased citizen awareness and participation in hand pulling to control the spread and preventing introduction to bodies of water are all necessary for water chestnut management to succeed. The bottom line to prevent water chestnut and all invasive aquatic plants entering a lake is to remove any and all plant objects, leaves, seeds, nuts, etc. from all boats, boat propellers and trailers before launching a boat. Removed plants should be disposed of in trash receptacles or burned. Also:
For more information call the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance at | ||