Comprehensive Labor Review Finds 187 Hours Per Acre Saved With Envu Herbicide
Mathers Environmental Science Services review shows the current costs saved by incorporating Marengo in a rotational preemergence herbicide program
CARY, N.C., September 15, 2025 — Results from a comprehensive Time Savings review, conducted by Mathers Environmental Science Services (MESS), show container growers will experience a significant reduction in labor fees associated with manual weed pulling when Marengo® herbicide from Envu is incorporated in a rotational preemergence herbicide program.
Utilizing previously published white papers citing the costs of hand-weeding (Case et al., 2005; Darden and Neal, 1999; Gilliam et al., 1990; Ingram et al., 2016 and 2017; Khamare et al., 2022), Mathers sought out to understand the current costs of hand-weeding applications. The conclusion: Greenhouse growers and nurseries that do not use any preemergence herbicides and rely solely on hand-weeding can have labor costs ranging from $3,779-$6,989 per acre per year, depending on nursery size and location. Using one application of Marengo herbicide can save growers up to 187 hours per acre of time spent manually pulling weeds. Read the comprehensive review at us.envu.com/ornamentals/weed-control.
“187 hours per acre is a lot of time back in the grower’s business plan, especially during key times when sales are ramping up, like early spring,” said Janna Beckerman, Ph.D., Green Solutions Team specialist at Envu. “We are encouraged to see the findings from the Mathers review. The one thing that is very clear is growers need to incorporate a comprehensive rotational preemergence program to reduce costs associated with hand-weeding. We are not saying use one product over another. We are saying use Marengo herbicide during a rotational preemergence program to prevent resistance breakthroughs for prolonged efficacy over the growing season.”
Methodology
Mathers sought out to understand the current costs of hand-weeding applications of container growers in the four largest nursery production states: California (CA), Florida (FL), Oregon (OR) and Michigan (MI). Each state represents different lengths of growing seasons: 24 weeks in MI, 36 weeks in CA and northern FL, and 40 weeks in southern FL and CA. Upon narrowing the growing locations, Mathers standardized labor costs for hand-weeding, utilizing H2A labor costs as required by the Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) (https://flag.dol.gov/wage-data/adverse-effect-wage-rates, 2025). Many nursery container growers have reported utilizing the H2A workers for labor-intensive activities, ex. hand-weeding. Therefore, the AEWRs by state approximate as closely as possible an industry standard wage for hand-weeding.
Conclusions
The four herbicides in their respective growing season lengths, 24-, 36- and 40-week by state, indicate Marengo herbicide is often the least expensive herbicide choice. However, an even better indicator of the optimal herbicide to utilize is the percentage of time saved versus total reliance on hand-pulling (i.e., untreated control). All four herbicides in 24,- 36- and 40-week growing seasons provided significant savings over total reliance on hand-weeding. The review shows that any container grower still relying on hand-pulling as their primary form of weed control is spending at least 50% more than their fellow nursery growers, and compared to the three newer herbicides, 60% and 70% more. This is money saved for market expansion with closer control and more available cash to increase stock quality and thus sales.
“Marengo herbicide has a very low active ingredient loading and environmentally favorable properties, meaning the grower gets more bang for their buck,” said Steve Larson, nursery and greenhouse specialist at Envu. “The greatest cost in nursery weed control is the cost of neglect. We are challenging growers to calculate the savings that Marengo herbicide can have in their operation. The calculator is another tool to empower purchasers to make the best decision to grow a strong business and healthy ornamentals.”
Growers are encouraged to use the Cost-in-Use Calculator to see how Marengo herbicide can help improve budgets. Get started at us.envu.com/ornamentals/weed-control. Follow the U.S. Envu Facebook page at facebook.com/EnvuUS and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/envu-us.
MESS was founded by Hannah Mathers, Ph.D., and her husband, James Beaver. Among many goals, MESS is focused on reducing herbicide usage and weed control costs via biorational and organic approaches, as well as improving weed control application technologies and timing of applications to increase efficiency.
About Envu
Envu was founded in 2022, a company built on years of environmental science experience, for the sole purpose of advancing healthy environments for everyone, everywhere. Envu offers dedicated services in: Professional Pest Management, Forestry, Ornamentals, Golf, Industrial Vegetation Management, Lawn & Landscape, Mosquito Management, and Range & Pasture. Envu collaborates with customers to design innovative solutions that meet their requirements today and well into the future. The Envu portfolio consists of more than 180 trusted and well-known brands. The company employs over 900 people, operates in 100 countries, and has four global innovation hubs. For additional information, visit www.envu.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
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