HelenG
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 231
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Post by HelenG on Aug 1, 2011 23:33:49 GMT 1
We had our fields sprayed to kill ragwort, thistles and docks last year and this year. The first year there wasn't much difference in the amount and most re-grew. We pulled alot out!! Then this year has been so much easier. The spray has worked (apart from the thistles are still thriving) and nothing has grown in the field, even after being fertilised! there is still some around the fence line but it's coming out really easy. I think all the rain we had earlier on in the year has made the roots stay near top. I have the same problem of other liverys not wanting to get their hands dirty. Is it odd that i actually find it therapeutic pulling up the yellow stuff?
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Amanda Seater
Grand Prix Poster
Listen to your horse you may be surprised what he may tell you about yourself
Posts: 3,866
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Post by Amanda Seater on Aug 8, 2011 13:47:33 GMT 1
haven't read teh whole thread. I loathe ragwort and truely believe that it is harmful . SO what is this web site all about and what have they to gain? www.ragwortfacts.com/index.html
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Post by mandal on Aug 8, 2011 18:36:39 GMT 1
No idea Amanda but it's all very interesting. The amount ingested when it becomes toxic quoted and that liver damage is only cumulative if the liver is actually damaged from ingestion of a large amount in one go. I thought ingestion of small amounts caused damage... Need to read more.
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Post by sooty on Aug 10, 2011 13:59:55 GMT 1
I visited my work's head office last week and was appalled to see copious amounts of ragwort growing in the grounds - it was obviously being cultivated as a plant, not ignored as a weed, as the grounds are very well tended. I wrote to the estates department pointing out that it is a noxious weed and needs to be pulled up and disposed of, this is their reply: Does anyone know whether I can refute this? I know it's not agricultural land, but the seeds can and will blow everywhere
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Post by Furiey on Aug 12, 2011 8:30:26 GMT 1
I ragfork out any ragwort I see in Bailey's field, if I miss one (I'm amazed how they hide) I get cinnabar moth caterpillers on it and I have to let it grow, removing any flowerheads until they have gone. This year I have not misssed any plants and as I have been pulling groundsel I have found cinnabar moth caterpillars feeding/growing quite happily on that so they can feed on something other than ragwort.
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dellyb
Elementary Poster
Posts: 79
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Post by dellyb on Aug 12, 2011 16:13:08 GMT 1
"""It does occasionally cause livestock deaths but this is comparatively rare and usually as a result of consuming ragwort in hay"""
"""The breakdown products formed in the liver are toxic.... It is the damage that is caused to liver cells that can, if sufficient ragwort is consumed at each dose, be cumulative to the point of death occurring."""
so, basically what they are still saying is what we already know, that ragwort IS dangerous, it DOES kill, and we should continue to remove it!
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Post by ladyndibs on Aug 17, 2011 9:33:38 GMT 1
The field we took over in November had previously been rented by a 'horse lover'. The field was full of ragwort but thought that with determination we would be able to dig it all, after spending 5-8 hrs a day digging for a couple of months we had to resort to spraying. We used Depitox and found it was brilliant, it killed off quite large plants as well as those at the rossette stage also thistles and buttercups. After a couple of weeks we topped the whole lot so that it would be easier to see any new growth, so far so good, that was about 3 months ago and apart from a couple along the fence line we've had no more. I have noticed though that where I dug some very big plants in the winter the regrowth from the broken bits of root look different, the leaves tend to be rounded and a very bright green. (I wouldn't call myself an expert but I have come to recognise not only the different appearances it can assume but also the different growth patterns, if ever I do Mastermind that'll be my subject lol.) Also areas that we had cleared completely earlier this year have had new plants emerge that have flowered this year, we are lucky enough to have a bit of space to be able to spray etc and keep the horses off but I doubt very much if the field will be clear for many years to come, the seeds can lay dormant for up to 16 years.
As an afterthought, if it's poisonous to humans and we don't eat it the poison must enter our system through our skin, surely that would be the same with horses. I realise they have a fairly good covering of hair but it does make me wonder if when they rub their legs etc are they absorbing it in this way as well.
Sorry for the very long rant and waffle but ragwort has taken up more of my time this year than my horses.
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Post by Fussymare on Aug 18, 2011 22:03:13 GMT 1
We regularly ride around a very large field that is cut for hay. This year it had more ragwort growing in it than grass! They cut it a couple of days ago. I wonder who on earth is going to end up buying the bales? Stupid farmer. About a month or so ago I dug up every last tiny ragwort plant in my field. Yesterday I walked across one paddock I have sectioned off to rest and was dismayed at the number of ragwort rosettes that had sprung up from nowhere!!
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Post by eosnom on Aug 13, 2012 14:31:06 GMT 1
I visited my work's head office last week and was appalled to see copious amounts of ragwort growing in the grounds - it was obviously being cultivated as a plant, not ignored as a weed, as the grounds are very well tended. I wrote to the estates department pointing out that it is a noxious weed and needs to be pulled up and disposed of, this is their reply: Does anyone know whether I can refute this? I know it's not agricultural land, but the seeds can and will blow everywhere You can't refute it because it is pretty accurate actually. The seeds don't blow everywhere there have been thorough studies done. It is pretty obvious too as they only have parachutes and therefore generally always move down. They generally drop out after a few metres. See this for more details on the studies www.ragwortfacts.com/ragwort-dispersal.htmlThe problem is that thee is a lot of poor information about ragwort around. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who are an independent body who look just at the facts, stopped a series of adverts that were overplaying the dangers of ragwort and saying other incorrect things last year. You can also find good information here www.ragwort.org.ukAnd information on the ASA here www.swanseafoe.org.uk/ragwort-the-sense-and-the-nonsense.html
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