Ragwort should be controlled but not eradicated
situations, and it definitely does not need encouraging. Basically a biennial plant, in the first year it forms a ground covering rosette and, in the second year, produces seed heads with up to 200,000 seeds per plant. Each of these seeds may lay dormant for 20 years or more, so control is a
200 species of insect use Ragwort as a major food source (pictured Common Blue Butterfly)
Ragwort (Senecio jacobea)
Ragwort has become a common sight on most of our highway corridors
throughout the country, as well as on agricultural set aside fields, railway and river embankments; in fact any where that has poor maintenance regimes. This yellow flowering plant strikes the fear of god into horse owners everywhere, to the point where it has its own governmental act.
The plant is not, as some would think, an alien invader that is spreading everywhere; it is in fact a native plant that has a very important part to play in the ecology and life cycle of numerous organisms. There are approximately 200 species of insects and the like that use Ragwort as a major food source.
Indeed it is true that it can kill horses by causing irreparable liver damage when digested over many years but, to focus on that is to over look a plant that is environmentally important and should not be eradicated. Controlled, yes, but not eradicated.
As with all seed bearing plants, its spread along corridors is a large factor in its prevalence on road side verges. The Highways Agency generally take this very seriously and spend millions of pounds every year to try
and quash the public outrage at seeing this flower on the verges. Highways Agencies and Local Authorities often receive severe criticism and are held up as the reasons for the widespread infestations of Ragwort, adjacent
landowners blaming anyone possible to defer liability from themselves and to try and improve the safety of their land.
Horses, as a rule, will not eat live Ragwort, the taste is not to their liking. However, once cut and the toxins within the plant become more palatable as they break down, horses actually find it irresistible. This is why any hay cutting or control methods must be undertaken with care and caution. Once the animals have eaten enough Ragwort they will die. There is no cure. Estimates of fatalities through Ragwort poisoning range from 10 to 6500 per year in the UK alone. This is a much talked about plant that has myths and legends dating back to the days of the Pharaohs if everything is to be believed. Whatever the actual figure for fatalities, it is indeed a plant that needs controlling in certain
management issue that needs to be undertaken with a long term approach. The traditional method of ‘Hand Pulling’ is perhaps one of the reasons why it has spread so far and seems impossible to control. This method not only puts the operator at risk of severe
personal injury from the toxins within the plant but, by the
very nature of pulling, it will cause the spread of the plant. Ragwort can regenerate from tiny root sections left in the ground, the seeds present in the sward from previous years will be encouraged to grow as the ground is disturbed by the pulling operation and there is also the chance that by pulling the plant one will dislodge the Ragwort seeds and allow all of the seeds to be spread within the area of works.
I was recently horrified to hear the British Horse Society arranging Ragwort Pulling Parties during September when the plant has finished flowering and the seeds are just right for being easily spread. This method of control will not work.
So what are the options left open to us to control Ragwort in our parks, open spaces and road verges? There are two methods that seem to be relatively successful. One of which is the application of herbicides such as Glyphosate or Barrier H sprayed specifically to the plants whether in rosette stage or during the flower stage. Ideally this should be carried out during periods of active
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plant growth - April onwards until the plant is in flower. Mowing can be effective as the plant will be forced into becoming a perennial Rosette and therefore will loose the ability to produce seed heads and then propagate. It will take many many years of close mowing to enforce thorough control, but it is a method of control not involving use of herbicides. Whatever method is utilised it will only be fully effective if the management of the grass areas is of a high standard. Pasture
Management techniques, which can be used across the board, include reducing compaction and improving drainage as well as encouraging dense native sward establishment thereby out-competing the Ragwort. For further information on the invasive weeds described above as well as cutting edge research papers on a wide range of invasive issues please visit the web site
www.t-c-m-rd.co.uk where information and advice is freely available. tcm (r&d) Ltd has been established to progress research into providing science based, practical, innovative solutions to vegetation management and invasive weed issues.
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