Posting for Treatment June 18, 2008 June 18, Center Pond, Becket, Massachusetts, USA. This posting is for a 1.45 acre treatment with Reward (active ingredient diquat dibromide) by Aquatic Control Technology, Inc. performed on June 18, The area of milfoil infestation was approximately 1/4 acre in size. A larger treatment size of 1.45 acres was deemed necessary due to the area being out near the middle of the lake and not having shelter from any bordering shorelines. CenterPondMilfoil-1.jpg

Area Treated June 18, 2008 June 19, This is the area that was treated. The buoy marker is to warn boaters of the Big Rock there. This area harbored a dense bed of mature milfoil plants that had grown near to or up to the surface. Some of these plants, those which had reached the surface, had flowered and produced seeds. CenterPondMilfoil-2.jpg

Hazard of Long Weighted Hoses June 19, The day after treatment. Long weighted hoses were used to insert the herbicide down near the bottom. These hoses were placed inside the weedbed and broke milfoil stems near the bottom. The long stems in the photo were held in place by the tops of the remaining plants. Others escaped and floated all around the lake. We removed those in the photo and any we found floating. Some, however, were found in various places in the lake and had rooted and started new plants. CenterPondMilfoil-3.jpg

Regrowth after 5 1/2 weeks July 25, The defoliated stems of the milfoil plants are still in process of decay while new stems have begun to grow from the roots. Treatment with diquat does not kill the plants - it decays the plant material above the bottom of the lake. This adds decaying plant material and nutrients to the water and decreases water clarity. CenterPondMilfoil-4.jpg

Regrowth after 20 weeks November 4, Some defoliated stems are still in process of decay while the new growth has returned to within 2 inches of surface. All plants in this photo are milfoil, including many young plants. The weedbed after treatment has many more plants per square foot than it did before the treatment. The treatment opened the area up to sunlight that was previously blocked by the mature plants, allowing more plants to root than was possible before. Consequently, this area is now more difficult to hand-pull. CenterPondMilfoil-5.jpg