Project Overview

The objective of this project is to determine if a large-scale demonstration compost operation could be used to destroy an invasive aquatic plant, water hyacinth, and its seeds, and produce a mature compost. Water hyacinth, harvested from Spring Lake in San Marcos, will be combined with other feed stocks (poultry litter, wood chips, and food waste) to produce a mature compost that will destroy the water hyacinth and its seeds. The results of the project will be presented to interested parties and will serve as an example of best management practices for other water bodies with water hyacinth problems. The project is being supported through a research grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

 

 

Need

Water hyacinth is a native of the Amazon River and became an aquatic weed problem in the United States during the last century. Water hyacinth has caused blocked waterways and lowered dissolved oxygen levels, resulting in reduced available oxygen for aquatic animals and plants. Herbicides have been used to control water hyacinth, but this is not a preferred approach for environmentally sensitive habitats. Harvesting the water hyacinth and then using a composting process to destroy the plant and its seed would be an environmentally safe approach. Composting is known to kill weed seeds if temperatures are high enough and maintained for long periods of time. This project will test and document the effectiveness of composting in destroying water hyacinth and its seeds.

 

 

Investigators

Dr. Michael Abbott, grant director at the River Systems Institute at Texas State University and Dr. Tina Cade, Associate Professor in the Agriculture Department at Texas State University are the principle investigators for the project. Mr. John Montoya, a graduate student in the Agriculture Department at Texas State University is also involved in the project.