Photo of Asian copperleaf courtesy of Meaghan Anderson, Iowa State University
A new weed species has been identified in five Iowa counties and an extension agronomist says the plant could be a threat to row crops.
Meaghan Anderson with Iowa State University says it’s unknown how Asian copperleaf was introduced to the state. “It’s the lack of information that we have about it, and the fact that when we’re finding it there’s so much of it in these crop fields, that lends us to be a little bit concerned.”
Iowa State University Extension says a USDA Risk Analysis found the species does not show strong invasiveness or weediness characters, but has been classified as ‘high risk’ because of its high level of uncertainty.