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Weeds compete with plantings for water and nutrients. So farmers and gardeners may have good reason to hate them. But weeds can also bring pretty flowers and wild beauty to places lacking either. British nature writer Richard Mabey offers support for weeds in his new book. The title says it all: "Weeds: In Defense of Nature's Most Unloved Plants."
杂草和植物争夺水分和养分。因此农民和园丁有充分理由不喜欢它们。但杂草也能给某些地方带来漂亮的花朵和野性之美。英国自然作家理查德·玛贝（Richard Mabey）在他的新书中表达了对杂草的支持。书名就说明了一些：“杂草：为自然界这种最没人喜爱的植物辩护。”
But when exactly is a plant considered a weed? Experts at Penn State University say the answer is simple: when the undesirable qualities outweigh the good qualities.
但是，什么时候一种植物会被认为是杂草？宾夕法尼亚州立大学的专家表示，答案很简单：当其不良品质超过优良品质时就会被认为是杂草。
A crop plant generally produces several hundred seeds. But a weed plant can produce tens or even hundreds of thousands of seeds. And if seeds get buried, they may survive for many years underground.
每株作物一般能产生几百棵种子。但每株杂草能产生数万甚至数十万颗种子。如果种子被埋到地下，它们还能在地下存活很多年。
Eradicating weeds means that you have to remove all the seeds and roots so the plants will not grow back. But birds or the wind can reintroduce them to the land.
根除杂草意味着你必须清除所有的种子和根系，这样杂草才不会再长出来。但是，鸟类或风可能会将它们重新带到地里。
A more common way to deal with weeds is to control them enough so that the land can be used for planting. Experts advise using two or more control methods to deal with weeds.
一种更常见的对付杂草的方式是严格控制其生长，这样土地才能种植作物。专家建议使用两种或两种以上的方式来对付杂草。
Chemical weed killers or natural treatments like corn gluten can suppress weed growth. But so can dense planting. Bill Curran is a professor of weed science at Penn State. He says a dense, competitive crop that quickly shades the soil from the sun will help reduce weed growth.
化学除草剂或玉米蛋白粉一类的自然控制手段可以抑制杂草的生长。作物密集种植也行之有效。 比尔·柯伦（Bill Curran）是宾夕法尼亚州立大学的杂草科学教授。他表示，经过密植的竞争性作物会很快遮蔽阳光，这将有助于抑制杂草生长。
