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Mowing your lawn is making one plant a superweed, new study finds
While mowing your lawn might leave your garden looking as fresh as ever, the simple act also empowers a “superweed” prevalent across the United States.
With Spring in full swing and summer just around the bend, Americans are starting to get their gardens in shipshape. Part of this is choosing the correct plants, but any gorgeous garden begins with a gorgeous base, so naturally, lawns are cut right down and weeds are pulled from their crevices.
Be careful when mowing your lawn
Researchers from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture recently found that mowing Solanum elaeagnifolium, sometimes called Silverleaf Nightshade, turns it into a superweed. Their findings were published this week in Natures Scientific Reports journal.
Silverleaf nightshade is found in numerous countries including America, South Africa, Greece, and areas of South America. Stateside, the plant is most common in Texas, Washington, California, Maryland, and Florida, but it can be found across the country in temperate locations.
The pesky weed can be identified by its bright purple flowers, prickly spines, and poisonous berries, though of course, you won’t be eating them. Solanum elaeagnifolium is part of a large family that also includes black nightshade and Carolina horsenettle with more commonly known plants like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
Through numerous studies centralized in Edinburg, Texas, associate professor of entomology Rupesh Kariyat identified how Solanum elaeagnifolium can learn to protect itself following excessive mowing.
You are trying to mow these plants so that the plants are getting eliminated, Kariyat said. But what you are actually doing here, you are making them much worse, much stronger.
Silverleaf Nightshade is giving even Marvel a run for its money
Through both prior and original research, Professor Kariyat was able to highlight a plethora of superpowers that Silverleaf Nightshade has gained as a result of human intervention.
Firstly, the plant’s taproot, or main root, buried itself 5 feet deeper as a way of rooting itself more firmly in the ground. Another selection of roots, known as rhizomatic roots, are able to reproduce asexually when left in the ground after tilling.
The stem also got an upgrade with more spikes to protect against caterpillars, which were also in for a nasty surprise if they ate the toxic flowers.
Much like some of Marvel’s most powerful heroes, Silverleaf Nightshade boasted numerous other powers including the ability to time delay seed germination. This meant that seeds sprouted at different times, increasing the chance of the weed’s presence over a longer period.
This should be something that we consider when we make management plans, Kariyat said of the plants defenses. Management practices need to be better understood using the ecology and biology of the species and the other species which interact with them.
