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Global Ecovillage Network/Solution Library/Weed control without herbicide

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About the challenge

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To replace herbicides with a safer natural method of weed control Unwanted plants are eradicated with hot water blanketed with a natural foam

Description

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Botanists have known for a long time that boiling water kills weeds. The problem with making thermal technology available on a commercial basis has been finding a way to keep the heat on the plant long enough to kill it. Hot water alone doesn’t work well enough. Foamstream, a biodegradable foam made from natural and renewable plant oils and sugars can be precisely applied to weeds with hot water and the combination effectively eradicates weeds.

Heat is applied to the weed in the form of foam and hot water The foam acts as a blanket, keeping the heat on the weed long enough to kill it A wetting agent in the foam speeds up the transfer of heat into the weed’s cell walls The weed dies within minutes Repeated applications can reach tap roots where their eradication is required

Areas of impact

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  • Ecology
    • Seeds, Food & Soil

See also

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Page data
Part of GEN Solution Library
Keywords ecology, seeds, food, soil
SDG
Authors Ernesto Sun
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Organizations Global Ecovillages Network
Ported from https://www.ecovillage.org/solution/weed-control-without-herbicide/ (original)
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Redirects GEN Solution Library/Weed control without herbicide
Views 2 page views (analytics)
Created June 6, 2025 by Maintenance script
Last edit March 10, 2026 by Felipe Schenone
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