Officials in North Dakota continue to hunt for more of the aggressive weed Palmer amaranth.
A pigweed species plant, Palmer amaranth was first discovered in North Dakota last month. It was in a soybean field near McIntosh County in the south-central region of the state.
Now officials are waiting for DNA tests from weeds found in nearby fields to learn if more Palmer amaranth is present.
The plants from the original field were destroyed but surveillance by North Dakota State University Extension and the North Dakota Department of Agriculture is ongoing.
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“The plants pulled by nearby fields were very similar to the Palmer amaranth found in the first field,” state Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said in a news release. “Due to similarities in other amaranth species, we are waiting for a DNA analysis to confirm or deny that these plants were Palmer amaranth.”
Palmer amaranth can be spread through contaminated seed, machinery movement, animal feed and bedding and by birds.
Goehring said in the release that investigators believe the plants were not spread in contaminated seed mixes.
Palmer amaranth can produce up to a million seeds per plant. It has wreaked havoc on the cotton industry in the southern United States, and has developed glyphosate resistance.
Last year, scientists in the U.S. in a survey carried out by the Weed Science Society of America called Palmer amaranth the most troublesome weed in broadleaf crops and in fruits and vegetables.
Manitoba and Ontario have been monitoring the situation closely and have declared Palmer amaranth to be a noxious weed and set out monitor and control measures.
