WEEDAX Industrial & Agricultural Weed Control for Ragwort & Other Injurious & Invasive Weeds

Ragwort is a tall plant with attractive yellow flowers, which can often be seen growing by the side of motorways, in fields, on derelict land and occasionally in gardens. Unfortunately it is so poisonous to horses, donkeys, cattle, rabbits and other livestock that it is covered by the Weeds Act 1959. More recently it has been subject to an Act of Parliament, The Ragwort Control Act 2003.

Every part of the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, these being the compounds that make the plant poisonous. The foliage smells very unpleasant when crushed, which helps prevent livestock from eating it.

Ragwort

IDENTIFICATION
Ragwort has dark green toothed lobed leaves, giving the plant its name, forming a rosette low to the ground. After its first winter, the rosette dies away as the main stem develops in the following year. It can grow up to a metre high, with its yellow flowers growing at the top of the stems in very flat clusters. It is part of the daisy family.

Ragwort is a biennial plant - a rosette in the first year, and flowering for around six months (from spring to autumn) the next, and self-seeds very efficiently, beginning in September during the flowering year. It can become established in an area very quickly if left unchecked. The seeds can last for over 10 years in the soil if deep enough, so disturbing soil can bring them back to the surface to begin sprouting again. Ragwort prefers to be in undisturbed, uncultivated low fertility soil.

LEGISLATION
Under the initial Act, if ragwort is found on any land, it is the duty of the occupant to ensure its removal if it is a threat. If it is not removed, an order may be made to the occupier to remove the plant. The amended Act makes it easier for prosecutions where ragwort is allowed to grow unchecked where it is a danger to animals or where it may spread to adjacent land; the act also introduces a code of practice to help with ragwort control.

HEALTH & LIVESTOCK
If eaten by livestock, ragwort can be fatal due to the pyrrolizidine alkaloids it contains. If eaten it has a cumulative affect and slowly destroys the liver as the toxins are absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract. The liver's ability to repair itself is inhibited as cell damage occurs. As the liver continues to function while it is being damaged, it can be some time before the problem is discovered, with potentially fatal consequences. It may be poisonous to humans if it contaminates food supplies. Some people may have a skin reaction from the plant.

RAGWORT ERADICATION
Effective disposal of ragwort is a key factor in control. Cut and pulled flowering ragwort plants may still set seed and ragwort has a 70% seed germination rate. All parts of the ragwort plant remain toxic and harmful to animals when treated or wilted. Ragwort should be completely removed, including the roots, before it has a chance to set seed. Dead plants should always be removed.

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