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Even 30-40 years ago, breeders were engaged in the development of new varieties hogweed, today, many scientific minds are struggling with the problem of the destruction of this plant. Why the hogweed became unnecessary and even dangerous, how to destroy the hogweed, and what you should definitely not do - all the answers are in this article.
Varieties of hogweed
Today, several varieties of the plant are known, but Sosnovsky's hogweed is considered the most dangerous for humans. This plant is characterized by a height of up to four meters, huge white inflorescences in the form of umbrellas, sweeping leaves and thick hollow stems.
Everything would be fine, such a giant plant even looks very decorative, but, as it turned out, Sosnovsky's hogweed is very dangerous for human health. It's all about the juice of this plant, which causes real chemical burns.
Getting on human skin, juice weed at first does not manifest itself in any way. But as soon as the sun shines on this area of skin, terrible blisters and severe burning will appear. It turned out that Sosnovsky hogweed juice is phototoxic, that is, it becomes aggressive only under the influence of ultraviolet radiation.
In a thick shade or in a dark room, the skin is washed with running water with soapy foam, rubbed with alcohol or potassium permanganate. It is better not to go out in the sun for several days, since the juice is active for 72 hours.
Not only Sosnovsky's hogweed has undergone global destruction. The rest of the varieties of this plant also fell out of favor due to the rapid growth and catastrophic vitality.
Weed features
The destruction of Sosnovsky's hogweed is quite justified, because this plant is poisonous and dangerous to humans. But why do people fight on their plots with other types of hogweed, because it is quite decorative and can decorate a dacha no worse than exotic flowers?
The fact is that initially, the hogweed was even bred, they tried to bring out different varieties, to enhance the natural qualities of this plant. In Soviet times, it was assumed that the weed could cope with several important tasks at once:
- Serve as feed for cattle, pigs and goats. The growth rate of the hogweed stalk is up to 10 cm per day, which allows you to get tons of green forage in a very short time.
- A dense wall of thick stalks was supposed to protect roads and major highways from cattle - the cows could not pass through the thickets of old stiff weeds, so they did not impede the movement of vehicles.
- Sosnovsky's hogweed and all other species of this plant very effectively recycle exhaust gases, returning pure oxygen to the atmosphere. Scientists of the Soviet period believed that dense planting of hogweed along the sides of the roads could neutralize toxic exhaust gases, so the plant was planted along the highways in huge quantities.
- Cut stalks and leaves of the weed can be an excellent fertilizer, the quality and composition of which has been compared to cow dung. The root system of the plant additionally saturates the soil with nitrogen - after the hogweed on the site, you can grow a bountiful harvest of any crops.
And at first, the plant was very successful in performing all these tasks. But phenomenal vitality and just a huge amount of seeds made hogweed so widespread that other plants simply could not grow - hogweed clogs all plants, both weeds and cultivated.
And the number of cows in the country has become much smaller: now there is no one to regulate the amount of this plant. Considering that one plant gives up to 70 thousand seeds per season, and also taking into account the exceptional germination of these seeds, it can be argued that it is extremely difficult to control hogweed. And man has to do it.
Strengths and weaknesses of the plant
To find out how to get rid of the cow parsnip on the site, you need to understand its features. So, weed has such strong qualities:
- Flowers can be pollinated by insects, or they can give seeds without pollination, since the cow parsnip belongs to self-pollinated plants.
- Frost does not kill seeds, but makes them even stronger, since this plant loves stratification. After severe winter frosts, seed germination increases sharply.
- The hogweed is a very strong and fast growing plant - other crops have no chance next to tall and powerful bushes.
- The weed will grow for as many years as it takes to sow its seeds. That is, until the plant continues to breed, it will not die. One bush can grow like this in one place for up to 15 years.
- Bushes do not propagate from roots - an annual plant. But, if you cut off the stem, the basal buds will wake up, and the cow parsnip will revive.
- The seeds remain viable even after five and after fifteen years of rest.
- Small seeds are easily carried over great distances by rivers, wind, birds and animals. The appearance of a hogweed is possible even in those areas where it has never been before.
- Umbrellas cut off even in an immature state are capable of ripening and producing well-germinating seeds. Only fire can destroy seeds at any stage of their development.
All this complicates the process of getting rid of the dacha from the cow parsnip. But fortunately the plant has several weak points, such as:
- the plant does not like areas with stagnant water;
- like any plant, it needs sunlight for its development;
- the plant that gave flowers and seeds will certainly die;
- hogweed does not reproduce by rhizomes;
- grass roots are at a depth of about 30 cm - you can get them;
- the seeds cannot germinate under a 30 cm layer of soil or under thick mulch.
Important! To effectively combat hogweed, you need to use several of its "weaknesses" at once. After all, for example, you can cut off the stems of a weed, but buds will immediately bloom on its roots. If you destroy the rhizome, seeds will definitely remain in the ground. Comprehensive control measures need to be taken.
How can you get rid of hogweed in the country
To permanently remove this grass from the site, you will have to work hard. It will hardly be possible to do this in one season - you will have to monitor the condition of the site for at least a couple of years.
There are several methods of weed control:
- chemical;
- agrotechnical;
- biological;
- mechanical.
It is necessary to consider each of the ways in more detail.
Chemical control method
In forests and steppes, it is customary to remove hogweed using a substance such as Roundup. The composition is simply drawn into a large syringe and each plant is "injected". In a few days, the hogweed will die, but its seeds from previous seasons will remain in the ground. therefore for a few more years, you need to monitor the site and remove young shoots.
Diesel fuel is a safe substitute for herbicides; a popular method of weed control has been created on its basis. Diesel fuel is taken into the syringe and also "injections" are given to the cow parsnip.It must be remembered that the best time to “inject” is May or early June, when the weed stems are young and not stiff. Later you can try to prick the cow parsnip into the sepals.
Agrotechnics on a site with weeds
One of the most effective ways to destroy hogweed in a summer cottage is to mulch the soil. It is best to mulch in early spring when the seeds have not yet emerged. But you can use the mulch later, only first you have to cut or mow the grass at the root.
Ordinary mulch in the form of sawdust or straw is harmless for hogweed - this plant is too strong. In this case, you will have to use a thick and dense plastic film of black color, its thickness should be at least 100 micrometers.
The film is spread over the entire site and additionally pressed with boards, earth or construction waste. If this is not done, the weed stalks will lift the cover and damage it, because they are very strong.
Active weed seeds will still remain in the soil, but it is much easier to deal with young plants - they are easily pulled out of the ground along with the root. Sow well the cleaned area of one of the lawn grasses so that they clog the young shoots of the weed.
Mechanical cleaning
This method is the most time consuming, but also quite effective. In this case, the hogweed is removed manually or with a shovel - large areas cannot be processed alone.
This product is reliable, but only applicable to young plants. The roots and stem of a perennial weed are so strong that even an ax, let alone a shovel, will not break them.
Young shoots can be pulled out by hand, but the stems are fragile and break easily. Therefore, it is better to remove the weed after rain or after watering the area.
Young shoots must be pruned with a shovel, capturing 15-20 cm of the underground part of the plant. So you can remove dormant hogweed buds. But after a couple of weeks, you need to control the process - the hogweed can start up new shoots.
If the weed is already in bloom, you can try to trick it. It is known that the main task of the hogweed is to give offspring. If you do not completely remove the "heads" of the inflorescences, but only cut off the tops of the umbrellas on which the seeds are located, the plant will "think" that its mission has been accomplished and will die itself safely.
The cut seeds must be burned.
Outcomes
With how to withdraw a hogweed, everything is more or less clear - it is quite difficult to do this. It is much easier to take preventive measures: do not import soil from contaminated areas, do not use river water for irrigation, remove single bushes, preventing their reproduction.
If it turned out that a hogweed plantation blossomed in the spring of the purchased country house, you will have to throw all your strength into fighting this weed: at the same time make injections, dig up the roots with the earth and burn the seeds. If you are unsuccessfully getting rid of weeds in your country house, watch this video:
They made a big fire on the site of the "fried" land, the cow parsnip has not grown for 2 years