Photo © Dreamstime/Meandr Managing Pesticide-free Home Lawns By Kathleen Dodson, MSc. T he advent of cosmetic pesticide bans within certain Canadian provinces has resulted in a need for research examining the efficacy of using lawn maintenance cultural practices without herbicides to maintain ideal turfgrass populations. The topic of weed control in turf was reviewed by Dr. Phillip Busey, who found in 2002 alone, more than 750 papers on the use of conventional pesticides as the means of weed control were published, but only 25 papers on the use of cultivation methods. 1 This suggests there is a gap in literature on the use of cultural practices for weed management. An understanding of weed encroachment and how to discourage weed invasion is required. January 2013 17 CG_Jan2013.indd 17 1/17/13 1:30:51 PM