Swiss railways test low-growing plant mix to replace herbicides

To reduce herbicide use in managing vegetation along railway tracks, the Swiss Federal Railways commissioned Agroscope and the Geneva-based School of Landscape, Engineering and Architecture (Hepia) to develop low-growing plant mixtures. After five years of trials, the method is now considered viable. The Swiss Federal Railways aims to minimise the use of synthetic herbicides – specifically glyphosate – while ensuring that infrastructure longevity, safety and accessibility are not compromised, Agroscope said in a press release last week. To meet these goals, Agroscope, Hepia and additional partners conducted a study to identify plant covers that would suppress problematic weeds, support infrastructure safety, and boost biodiversity. Importantly, the selected species also had to avoid introducing any plants harmful to agriculture. Five seed mixtures tailored for this purpose were tested at six locations across the Swiss Plateau. The species were selected to meet strict safety ...