VOA慢速英语 2008 0318a

Agriculture Report - The Seeds of Weed Control
Advice for suppressing the growth of unwelcome plants. Transcript¹ of radio broadcast:
17 March 2008

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

When is a plant a weed? When its undesirable² qualities outweigh³ its good points, say experts at Penn State University.
　

A farmer in Washington state burns weeds to prepare for the new growing season

Weeds can take control of productive land. Crops generally produce several hundred seeds per plant. But each weed plant can produce tens or even hundreds of thousands of seeds. And some buried seeds can survive up to forty years, or even longer.

Eradicating⁴ weeds means you have to remove all the seeds and roots so the plants will not grow back. But birds or the wind can reintroduce them to the land.

A more common way to deal with weeds is to control them enough so that the land can be used for planting. Experts advise using two or more control methods.

Chemical weed killers⁵ or natural treatments like corn gluten can suppress weed growth. Dense⁶ planting of a crop can also act as a natural control. Bill Curran is a professor of weed science at Penn State, in University Park, Pennsylvania. He says dense planting is one of the most common methods for suppressing weeds.

He says a dense, competitive crop that quickly shades the soil will help suppress many weeds. The seeds need light to grow, so blocking the sun will reduce weed growth.

Other controls include turning over the soil, pulling the weeds by hand or covering them with mulch made from wood, garden waste or other material. Mulch is widely used, but even mulch has its limits. Natural resource specialists in the Queensland government in Australia note that weeds can be transported in mulch. This is also true of soil, grain, hay and animals.

Yet animals like sheep or goats can provide a biological control by eating weeds. Insects and other organisms can also act as biological controls.

Preventing the spread of weeds is an important part of weed management. Farm vehicles should be kept out of areas with weeds. If that is not possible, then clean off the equipment and your shoes when leaving.

People in Queensland are advised to take weeds and garden waste to a waste center or burn them, bury them deeply or make them into mulch.

Professor Curran says composting weeds is another way to make use of them. The process of making organically rich compost produces heat. This will kill many, though not all, weed seeds. The same is true of seeds that pass through farm animals that graze on weeds.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more information about weed control, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Jim Tedder⁷.

　

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

3 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

4 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。

5 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

6 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

7 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网