EM/109/03
PRETTY BUT POISONOUS: HIGHWAYS AGENCY TACKLES RAGWORT
Ragwort''s bright yellow flowers are a colourful sight on roadside verges, but the plant has a more sinister side.
Livestock in Britain are at risk of poisoning from common ragwort, so the Highways Agency is working to reduce ragwort growth on the verges of England''s motorways and major trunk roads and to prevent the plant from spreading its seed.
Ragwort grows through two distinct stages - the rosette stage from germination to the end of May and the stem-flower stage from June onwards. The rosette stage is the early stage of growth where the ragwort is less noticeable but still poisonous with a dense rosette of leaves close to the ground.
The Highways Agency is using a two-step attack to deal with both stages of growth. The rosettes are being sprayed with a herbicide in spring and early summer, and later, contractors will return to hand pull the older, more mature plants to prevent their seeds being dispersed.
David Griffiths, Highways Agency''s environmental specialist in the East Midlands, said:
"Ragwort is a difficult plant to combat as it is almost impossible to eradicate; at best it can be controlled. The seeds are very robust and can lie dormant in the soil for up to 20 years and so Ragwort grows unexpectedly in many different places. They can be carried for miles in the wind, and so as part of our work to control the problem, we encourage landowners to remove Ragwort from their land to try and prevent reinvasion.
"The Highways Agency takes this perennial problem very seriously as Common Ragwort can pose a serious threat to equines and livestock, and there is no specific treatment once an animal shows symptoms of poisoning."
The Highways Agency spends in the region of £1 million each year to help control the spread of Ragwort along the 5, 841 miles of trunk roads and motorways it operates in England, and supports the British Horse Society''s (BHS) annual ''Ragwort Action Week'' campaign.
Notes to Editors 1. The Highways Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport, which manages, maintains and improves the network of trunk roads and motorways in England on behalf of the Secretary of State. It works closely with other transport operators and with local authorities to integrate the trunk road network with the rest of England''s roads and other forms of transport. More information is available at http://www.highways.gov.uk 2. Common ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.) is one of the five injurious weeds specified in the Weeds Act 1959. Landowners have a duty of care to prevent it spreading. 3. Ragwort is normally a biennial (rosette - spring 1st year; flowering - July/August 2nd year). The rosette stage is the early stage of growth where the ragwort is at it''s most poisonous and has a dense rosette of leaves close to the ground. In the stem-flower stage, the plant grows between 30cm and 100cn high with clustered bright yellow flowers. 4. Each plant can produce up to 150,000 seeds with a 70% germination rate. Ragwort seeds can be dormant in the soil for up to 20 years. 5. Equines and bovines are more susceptible to Ragwort poisoning than other livestock. Little can be done for the animal once the symptoms appear. Young animals are more susceptible than mature animals. 6. Ragwort acts as a cumulative poison, eventually destroying the liver. A small intake of ragwort over a long period can be just as damaging as a large intake on a single occasion. 7. Equines suffer from Ragwort poisoning without actually having any plants in their paddock. Seeds/spores from plants in neighbouring fields can blow over and contaminate a paddock apparently free from plants.
1
2
