MENACE OF FATHEN

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31321, 17 March 1967, Page 6

MENACE OF FATHEN

Early Control Advisable One of the most prevalent weed curses in the garden is fathen, an annual of the same species as the perennial Good King Henry. It belongs to the large family Chenopodiaceae, the so called Goosefoot family, to which beetroot and spinach also belong. Fathen, goosefoot or white goosefoot, so called because the very variable leaves often resemble the shape of a goose’s foot, and is a very persistent weed partly because the many seeds produced by individual plants are exceptionally viable and are capable of germinating after 50 years dormancy. The ovate leaves are covered by a white mealy substance which gives one’s hands a peculiar sensation of wetness when attempting to pull large ones out in spring or early summer. The flowers are green and inconspicuous, typical of the family, and dark black, minutely-dotted seers are subsequently formed in great profusion. Fathen may grow in excess of three feet although mature plants are usually to be seen of only half this height. Control is advisable early because eradication after fertilisation is difficult and the best thing then is to pull or dig up the plants and burn them. Seedlings or semimature plants should be pulled or hoed. They succumb readily to the weedkiller 24D at this stage where it is safe to use. There is also another fathen which one Can come across. It is the red fathen, O’* nettle-leaved fathen, red goosefoot or nettle-leaved goosefoot. It has reddish smooth stems, bright reddishgreen, variably • formed, deeply-notched leaves which are not covered with powder but have an almost iridescent sheen about them.