EcoCover New Zealand’s independent consultant, Mr John Coombs of Living Systems recently filed the following case study.
A national landscaping contractor planted out a large project in very inhospitable country adjacent to a major highway just south of Auckland. The project was roughly divided in half as follows:
Native tree seedlings planted with no EcoCover protection
Native tree seedlings planted with the EcoCover Weed Square management system.
Being in the public view, the site had considerable post planting maintenance. The results recorded by John six months after the initial planting are as follows:
1. The new plantings without EcoCover protection suffered 74% in total losses, due to both the soil/climate conditions and also post maintenance weed control spraying.
2. The new plantings with the EcoCover management system suffered only 11% in total losses and those losses were mainly along the margin between both plantings where weed spray drift had affected the plants.
3. Plantings with the EcoCover management system away from the spray margin suffered total losses of only 2%. An outstanding result under the tough prevailing conditions at the site.
The EcoCover system is proven to work and is completely safe on the environment. EcoCover provided the surviving plants with faster growth, healthier foliage and good soil security. In time, the EcoCover will fully biodegrade leaving no trace, just healthy, thriving plants.
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| EcoCover system new plantings | New plantings, no EcoCover |
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| EcoCover system’s weed control | ||
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| No EcoCover protection, result is 74% plants lost | |