KCP&L Finds Success with PGR, Herbicide

Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., has found that adding broadleaf herbicide to plant growth regulators (PGR) has reduced the labor needed to mow its 4600-sq mile (11,914-sq km) service area by two-thirds in four years.

In 1997, KCP&L experimented with PGRs to control shrub, tree and grass growth at some of its sites. The regulators increased the 10-day interval between mowing to almost two months.

Starting in April, herbicide from PBI/Gordon was added to PGRs at more than 80 KCP&L sites, reducing six mowings per site and resulting in saved costs, better-skilled operators and improved company morale. In addition, wet weather, crew absences and equipment downtime are less of a problem, and the utility's 200 locations have a neater appearance.