Iowa Crews Harvest Nearly 1 Million Pounds of Curlyleaf Pondweed to Clear Boat Lanes

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 20:48:31 +0000

With all of the rainfall over the past three weeks or so, the topic of curlyleaf pondweed has kind of taken a back seat. However, as we enter the month of July, it is a good time to reflect on the results of the 2018 curlyleaf pondweed treatment and harvesting process.

Mechanical harvesting of East Okoboji and in Lower Gar (Iowa) initially began on May 13, but it was halted until May 16 to get more weeds closer to the surface.

During the 3½ weeks of mechanical harvesting, 321 loads of cut curlyleaf were transferred to shore with 200 cubic feet per load. The weight of the harvested (wet) curlyleaf was 15 pounds per cubic feet. This led to a total of 963,000 pounds of wet weight!

In all, more than 41 acres of boat lanes were cut with all of the curlyleaf hauled to shore and taken to a DNR approved dumpsite. Once the dumped curlyleaf has dried out, at least 80 percent will be ground up and mixed in a compost for use on gardens, etc.

curlyleaf pondweed – Aquarius-Systems

Iowa Crews Harvest Nearly 1 Million Pounds of Curlyleaf Pondweed to Clear Boat Lanes