Invasive Plant Removal Demonstration | Little Rock State Office

Dark Berries on the Chinese Privet in Arkansas

Privet is one of the most problematic invasive plant species in Arkansas. It escapes into forests and dominates the understory, eliminating native plants and making forestry more expensive for land owners. (Photo courtesy John Pennington.)

Fast Facts

Site established in Feb 2020
Invasive plant of focus: Chinese Privet
Least effective method of removal: pulling/uprooting
Invasive plants reduce the diversity of native plants in our forests which eliminates food sources for wildlife

An invasive plant removal demonstration site was established in a forested area at the UA Division of Agriculture System's Little Rock State Office in February 2020 because volunteers with Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists in Arkansas were curious about which methods might work best in their efforts to remove invasive privet. The purpose of the demonstration is to evaluate the effectiveness of a variety commonly used methods of invasive plant control. The primary invasive plant of interest to control at this site is Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense).

Six treatments for plant removal are under investigation for privet removal effectiveness. The treatments being evaluated include:

mechanical pulling (M)
cut stump and paint with glyphosate (CPG)
cut stump and paint with triclopyr (CPT)
foliar glyphosate (FG)
foliar triclopyr (FT)
control (C)

Invasive Plant Removal Demo Plot Arrangement
Rep 1	C	FG2	FT2	CPG2	M2	CPT2
Rep 2	CPG1	M1	CPT1	FT1	FG1	C

The demonstration is nearing its first year of data collection on the initial privet removal, and so far mechanical removal of plants by pulling or uprooting appears to be the least effective method. All other forms of removal appear to be more effective than pulling.