By George Plaven
East Oregonian 

Eastern Oregon farmers seek to eradicate tumbleweeds

 

April 27, 2017



PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — Tumbleweeds are a common sight across Eastern Oregon, rolling over the vast landscape like something out of an Old West movie.

They are also a scourge for dryland wheat farmers, spreading hundreds of thousands of tiny seeds that invade fallow fields and rob the ground of critical moisture.

The weed isn't native to North America, but is believed to have been brought to South Dakota in contaminated flax seed in the late 19th century by Russian immigrants. It spreads quickly, with the stem detaching from the root and being carried by the wind across long distances, leaving...



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