Stephen Enloe, Associate Professor, Agronomy Department/Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, University of Florida
Dr. Stephen Enloe has been involved with invasive plant research and extension for the past 19 years. He has worked throughout the western and southeastern United States, including California, Colorado, Wyoming, Alabama, and now Florida. Over the last eight years, Dr. Enloe has worked extensively on cogongrass, Chinese privet, Chinese tallowtree, Japanese climbing fern, Chinaberry tree, and a host of other invasive plants. He has also recently worked in the area of bioenergy with an emphasis on preventing potential bioenergy species from becoming the next big invader.
Dr. Enloe earned his Ph.D at UC Davis in Plant Biology under Joe DiTomaso, a Master’s degree in weed science from Colorado State University under Scott Nissen, and an undergraduate degree in Agronomy from NC State.
“Hack and squirt” is an individual plant treatment technique widely used for woody invasive plants across the United States. The basic method involves making a series of cuts around the circumference of a tree and immediately applying a concentrated herbicide solution into the cuts. As simple as this seems, there is tremendous diversity among researchers and land managers in exactly what is meant and what is done with this technique. In reality, hack and squirt may entail labor intensive girdling type cuts, overlapping frill cuts, injection for evenly spaced cuts, and a myriad of tools to accomplish these methods. We will review different types of hack and squirt treatments, tools, and herbicides used. We will also discuss selectivity, herbicide flashback, and how hack and squirt techniques compare to other IPT methods. Get ready for a fun and informative lecture, and let’s take a hack at hack and squirt!