Associated Press - May 20, 2007 7:14 PM ET

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Volunteers in Iowa City spent three hours this weekend pulling garlic mustard from the ground. They hope their efforts will result in a new world record and more awareness of the pestlike plant.

Tomorrow, city employees will weigh bags filled with garlic mustard at the Iowa City Landfill. City officials think they'll have a world record - if the bags weigh more than 3,000 pounds.

Garlic mustard is native to Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. Insects and fungi that control the plant's growth don't live in Iowa. Terry Robinson, superintendent of Iowa City's parks and forestry, says the plant is a highly invasive species. It will shade out and out-compete all the native plants inside the woodland or along the edge of a stream.

Robinson says the city has a chance to set a new record. That's because nobody else has ever done it.

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