Connecticut Fights Invasive Plants with Eco-Friendly Tech

0:00It's April 29th. I'm Cory with the Story, and this is Hartford News today, your AI-powered local news. Invasive plants are wrecking havoc in Connecticut, choking out native species and causing big environmental, economic, and health problems. Over 100 non-native invaders are the culprits, but the state is pushing back hard. The Department of Transportation leads the charge with two eco-friendly tools, foam stream and aqua-pro. Road out this year to zap weeds without harsh. Chemicals. These systems blast high-temperature steam to cook weeds from top to bottom, using natural stuff like coconut oil, wheat, and potatoes in foam streams. Foam blanket. The dot deploys them in spots near watersheds, like paved islands and barriers, where one treatment can knock out small, herbaceous weeds for the first time, season. Workers and the public dig it because crews hit areas just once instead of multiple sprays, keeping roads safer and reducing traffic disruptions. People say it cuts pesticide use in sensitive zones while staying compliant with all

1:02rigs, even applying less herbicide than labels suggest, elsewhere. Right now, the tech shines on smaller patches and cracks, but struggles with tougher invaders like Japanese knot weed or mugwort, and it needs plants. Soaked twice at a standstill, not on the move for Guiderrails, the dot mixes in mowing a minimal targeted herbicides, turning off sprayers near wetlands. Deep-wide efforts continue through the invasive plant council, and deep grants targeting water invaders like Hydrilla, with hopes tech of balls for. Mobile units to go fully pesticide free soon.