How to Measure Weed Infestation

Weed infestation happens when a yard, garden or other plot of land is not properly taken care of and unwanted plants start to grow. If you needed to measure the weed infestation on a large plot of land, you could spend all day on your hands and knees counting. Instead, you can use a simple technique that allows you to measure the average density of weeds on a per-plant basis.

Measuring tape
2 Meter sticks
Notebook
Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Choose a random point in the area you want to measure. Place your two meter sticks down on the ground, perpendicular to each other, so that they form a cross. They now form the four quadrants that will be used for measurement.
- 2
  Measure the distance from the center of the cross to the closest weed in each quadrant and copy the measurement down into your notebook. Your notebook might look like this: Quadrant 1: 0.7 m; Q2: 0.6 m; Q3: 0.3 m; Q4: 0.4 m.
- 3
  Add the four distances and divide by four to get the average distance. In the example (0.7 m + 0.6 m + 0.3 m + 0.4 m)/4 = 0.5 m.
- 4
  Divide the area of the plot (1 m x 1 m) by the average distance squared to get the plant density. In the example, (1m^2)/((0.5m)^2) = 4 plants per square meter.

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