Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) is a widely established perennial
weed in North Dakota, infesting approximately 990,000 acres of land in
2005 (North Dakota Department of Agriculture survey). The leafy spurge
infestation in North Dakota seems to have peaked at about 1.5 million
acres in 2000 and 2001. The decline thereafter has been a result of an
effective control program initiated in the early 1980s. Prior to this control
program, leafy spurge acreage doubled every 10 years from 1950 to 1985.
Despite the decline in acreage, the widespread infestation continues to
cost the state more than $75 million annually in lost production.
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