Studier av ogräsbekämpning på banvallar 2006-2015: resultat och slutsatser från 10 års tillämpad forskning

This report describes and summarizes the results from research that evaluated methods for weed control on railways, conducted during 2006-2015, and funded by the Swedish Rail Administration (Banverket) and later by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket). As a background, an historical overview, as well as an overview of how weed control on Swedish railways is conducted today, is provided. Available information on how glyphosate, the only active substance in use today, functions, and on its environmental fate, is also briefly summarized. The research has comprised both field and lab studies and both chemical pesticides and alternative methods, such as acetic acid and hot water, have been evaluated. The focus has been on identifying herbicides with the potential to replace or complement glyphosate in order to broaden its effect, or as a tool for resistance management. However, it has become apparent that it is difficult to find herbicides which are both effective and do not pose an unacceptable risk for contamination of groundwater. Active substances such as carfentrazoneethyl and flazasulfuron could potentially function as future mixing partners for glyphosate but their envi-ronmental fate in the railway embankment is thus far insufficiently studied. Weed control by hot foam could be an alternative for smaller areas where pesticide use is prohibited but large scale usage is hardly possible. The Transport Administration is recommended to work more systematically with how they evaluate weed presence and the effectiveness of the weed control measures used; to investigate if vegetation covered green tracks could replace weeded tracks in certain urban areas and to establish a longterm research strategy for weed control.