Technical
“
The leaves are dark green with a distinctive celery or parsley smell
of its broader leaves and its narrow flowering period during June/July. (Compare it with Cow Parsley or Alexanders, flowering from April to June, Hedge Parsley or another common wetland umbellifera, Wild Angelica flowering from July to September). Apart from ditch clearing, animals and people are far more likely to come in contact with the leaves than the roots. The leaves are dark green and look very similar to Italian flat-leaved parsley with a distinctive celery or parsley smell.
Going into battle
Mechanical control: Digging up and handling the roots presents a hazard to the operator and plant material must be carefully disposed of, ideally by burning.
Chemical control: Use of a glyphosate containing product like Roundup ProBio to spot treat individual plants is an excellent way to control the weed. Remember that use of any pesticide in or near water requires Environment Agency approval.
Application rates and water volumes Foliar spray - knapsack
5l/ha Roundup Pro Bio in 200l/ha of water or, in waste ground and amenity situation, add Mixture B NF at 2% spray volume
4l/ha Roundup Biactive 450 in 200l/ha of water or, in waste ground and amenity situation, add Mixture B NF at 2% spray volume
Apply the equivalent of 5l/ha of Roundup ProBio, (1:40 dilution in a standard knapsack sprayer), at the rosette stage or just as the plant comes into flower, but avoiding the period of rapid stem extension. Later application should be before seed set or senescence in June or July. Glyphosate also kills grass, so spot treat with care to minimise any grass dieback. An alternative method is to use a hand-
held weedwiper with two parts water to one part Roundup ProBio. Treatment with the same product, whilst in flower, will prevent the production of viable seed. All parts of the plant remain poisonous
after spraying, so stock should be excluded from the treated area until all the foliage has gone brown and died back completely. Wear protective gloves and coveralls when
handling the plant, whether it is alive or dead.
Monitor the area each year and spray any new plants arising from seed already in the soil.
Conventional CDA
5l/ha Roundup Pro Bio in a minimum of 10l/ha water or carrier oil (200-300 micron VMD)
4l/ha Roundup Biactive 450 in a minimum of 10l/ha water or carrier oil (200-300 micron VMD)
Weed-wiping with hand held weed-wiper
1 part Roundup Pro Bio to 2 parts water - or paintbrush
1 part Roundup Biactive 450 to 2 parts water - or paintbrush
Mankar
Neat Roundup ProBio up to 5l/ha
Neat Roundup Biactive 450 up to 5l/ha
*Details on Mankar ULV applicators are available from,
http://www.pitchcare.com/shop/mankar-ulv-ultra-low- volume-sprayers/
index.html
PC APRIL/MAY 2014 I 133
Hemlock Water Dropwort contains a powerful neurotoxin called oenanthetoxin, which triggers spasmodic convulsions, usually followed by sudden death
Dead Man’s Finger facts!
Hemlock Water Dropwort is easily confused with water parsnip or Alexanders, both popular with foragers - medical journals report that a group of four holidaymakers recovered from the effects of eating a curry made with Hemlock Water Dropwort only after hospital treatment!
No British wild plant has been responsible for more fatal accidents: a party of workmen repairing a breach in a towing-path dug up the plants and ate the roots, mistaking them for parsnips; another party, working in a field, thought that a few of the leaves with their bread and cheese would prove a tasty relish: in each case, death occurred within three hours. On another occasion, eight boys ate the roots, and five died - and the other three had violent convulsions.
In ancient history, the plant was used in ritual killings, leaving the victim with a strange grin on their face, due to the paralytic properties of hemlock.
All parts of the plant remain poisonous after spraying, so stock should be excluded from the treated area until all the foliage has gone brown and died back completely
”
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