Giant Hogweed - A Timely Reminder!

I was listening to Farming Today whilst driving to a session early this morning and there was an interview with an angler who had been unfortunate enough to unwittingly brush against a Giant Hogweed whilst fishing a canal.

It's all been said before but as it's high season a reminder doesn't do any harm, this guy's on crutches after suffering chemical like burns to his leg after brushing against the sap and can't expose the skin area to sunlight for a year.

The damn stuff is quite common along certain stretches of riverbank around here, if anyone's in any doubt don't go near the damn thing!

Not sure if the link will kick in at the right point in the programme but if not then have a listen from around 6:30...

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, More Turbulence for the Dairy Industry, Farming Big Data, Giant Hogweed

Nice I've got a bloody load to cut and give a drink to next week And the weathers going to be hot and I'm going to be dressed in CSI suit, gloves face mask and carrying 25 kg full napsack..... Great.... really looking forward to that
Coincidently I was listening to Jeremy Vine prog today and he did a piece on some poor young gardener, who’d brushed up against a poisonous garden plant whilst working in someone’s garden and died from its effects. Don’t do garden plant so can’t remember its name. Then a guy comes on who only garden’s with poisonous plants, seemed to know his stuff and listed about 20 plants that are sold in garden centres with little or no reference to the potential poisonous effects they have.
One, Monks Head, is even put in bouquets by florists for weddings WTF.

Oh and before I forget got this through today which I knew about in England

"Biocontrol of Himalayan Balsam

Himalayan balsam’s days in Wales could be numbered. Between 26 and 29 May, as part of a Welsh Government funded project, scientists from the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) released a biological control agent to combat the spread of this invasive non-native plant.

The biocontrol agent in question is a pathogenic rust fungus that is incredibly hostspecific to Himalayan balsam. The scientists from CABI began their search for a suitable agent in 2006. They travelled to the Indian Himalayas, the native range of Himalayan balsam, to find one of the many insects or fungi that attacked the plant. CABI then had to establish which of these could be released into the UK to control the weed while leaving indigenous species unharmed. From this work, CABI successfully isolated a pathogenic rust fungus that does just that. During the course of the research, testing in quarantine laboratories has established that the rust fungus causes significant damage to Himalayan balsam and does not impact on any native UK species.

Himalayan balsam plants infected with the rust fungus have been planted out at four sites in Wales. The progress of the disease will then be monitored over the next three years. A similar project began in England last summer. Early indications from that trial are that the rust fungus is successfully spreading to balsam stands within the trial areas and beyond. As with any biocontrol agent, time is the key factor. If successful, it is anticipated that there will be around an 80% reduction in the Himalayan balsam population in Wales in the next five to seven years. "

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here's a link to the poor guy who died
Gardener 'died after brushing past poisonous plant' in millionaire's garden - Telegraph

On the plus side dried giant hogweed in autumn and winter makes cracking kindling for the Kelly Kettle.

nicepix said:

On the plus side dried giant hogweed in autumn and winter makes cracking kindling for the Kelly Kettle.

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I won one! Yet to use it, though - been staying at caravan sites with fishing lakes, close enough for the missus to bring beverages

Giant Hogweed is quite a problem here on the Irwell, always looks like Gunnera manicata (Chilean Rhubarb of the Gunneraceae family) before it throws up the giant flower head, looks quite striking and attractive, also seen some on the Mersey in two different stretches for the first time in years can spread like wild fire down stream if the plants are found on or near the waters edge.

Good to get/see another warning.

I wish they would teach children horticulture properly in schools as there are many leaves, seeds and plant saps over here (native and imported) that a heeded warning or a positive identification would be useful to them, for the few that still play out and go on adventures like we did.

Good news about the pink peril, I will have to cancel that special order of pink camo t-shirts

When we were kids we used to put the flowers of the foxglove on our fingers, it was only a few years later I discovered it contains a toxin called Digitalis which is used as a cardiac drug to slow the heart rate.
Prolonged exposure through ingestion or skin contact can cause the heart to slow and ultimately fail.

The bad one said:

testing in quarantine laboratories has established that the rust fungus causes significant damage to Himalayan balsam and does not impact on any native UK species.

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So they're gonn'a introduce a foreign fungus to combat the foreign plant, I wonder what the ramifications of that will be .

Everytime i've heard of this type of control something else has sufferd from the effects of it. I doubt the fungus will die out with the balsam, i'd wager the fungus will mutate and start to effect some other form of plant life.

Ian don't shoot the messager mate. I wait to be convinced about this bio-control for the reasons you give. The two guys who developed it and the body they work for, a none for profit organisation, are looking to set up a trading arm of the body to market it. That alone raise suspicions in my mind! I can't find any papers they've published (that's not to say there aren't any) to see how and how many species they tested it against to reach the conclusions they did.

The bad one said:

Ian don't shoot the messager mate. I wait to be convinced about this bio-control for the reasons you give. The two guys who developed it and the body they work for, a none for profit organisation, are looking to set up a trading arm of the body to market it. That alone raise suspicions in my mind! I can't find any papers they've published (that's not to say there aren't any) to see how and how many species they tested it against to reach the conclusions they did.

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Is the Balsam edible? If it is can I suggest we begin to pimp it out to the cool foodies?

Starter menu:

Deeply Perfumed Himalayan Balsam tempura with gently steamed asparagus in a light cheese sauce....might catch on, if its not poisonous.....mg:

The bad one said:

Ian don't shoot the messager mate. I wait to be convinced about this bio-control for the reasons you give. The two guys who developed it and the body they work for, a none for profit organisation, are looking to set up a trading arm of the body to market it. That alone raise suspicions in my mind! I can't find any papers they've published (that's not to say there aren't any) to see how and how many species they tested it against to reach the conclusions they did.

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Wouldn't dream of doin' that Phil, I know your just keeping people informed. I'm just saying that to introduce yet another foreign organism is crazy imo. We've seen the horrors of these quick fix remedies across the globe already....crazy in'it !

wes79 said:

Giant Hogweed is quite a problem here on the Irwell, .....

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Too true, Wes!
Through Salford Friendly AS we've been trying to identify where the 'root' of the Giant Hogweed is, i.e. how far up the Irwell and Croal it starts. The theory is that if you can identify the flowering heads, remove them into a 'bin-bag' and dispose of them, then there won't be any seeds spreading down the river that season. This needs to be repeated each year to avoid the spread and confine it to known areas which can then be targeted for eradication. Estimates are currently 5+years!

So far, we've found the GH on the Croal around Lostock, on the Eagley Brook up above Astley Bridge, and on the Irwell above Bury. Most cases are on Council land - where because of cutbacks they have failed to control the invader.

At the moment Angling Clubs seem to be the only bodies interested in taking any action on the stuff - but after recent reports that dogs chasing balls have been damaged when chasing into Hogweed - a number of parents are expressing concern that their offspring may be in danger whilst visiting 'countryside' - and concerned parents and dog-owners are threatening local authorities with legal action! It may work out to be cheaper for the authorities to take effective control measures than face the legal costs for damage to children or vets' bills! mg:

One of these days it might get sorted.

BTW - I'm waiting for one of my mates to return from the Borders where we saw some truly humungous invasions of Giant Hogweed on the Tweed a few years ago. It was being tackled there since it was affecting the leases of fishings and await his report on the progress.

There is a saying in the gardening world that one years seeding is seven years weeding.
In the case of giant hogweed you can double that as the seeds can lie dormant for up to 15 years and you only have to miss one seed head for the whole cycle to start again.

Eradicating these escapees from the victorian gardens from the riverbanks and countryside at large truly is a Herculean task and nobody has mentioned Japanese knotweed or the common pond plant, parrot's feather, which is sold in most garden centers as a water oxygenator and finds its way into local urban ponds when the pond fish are released into the wild after the owners get bored with the pond or worried the grandchildren might drown in it.

Quite Titus! But Mike's right about only angling clubs and river trusts taking action on rivers. Council's haven't yet caught up that the law has change and it's the landowners who are responsible for dealing with it. Either that or they are ignoring it in the hope the public don't know about the law change.

From a club's point of view, if they can afford it, it would be to their advantage to put some members through a spraying course PA6 and PA6W Costs are around 400-500 quid.

The bad one said:

...From a club's point of view, if they can afford it, it would be to their advantage to put some members through a spraying course PA6 and PA6W Costs are around 400-500 quid.

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Spot on Phil,
That is the longer-term objective! - once we can afford it / get funding, volunteers, etc - the beheading of flower heads to prevent seeding is a 'holding action' to prevent things getting worse and spreading down the water course!
Cheers!

Mad isn't it, the council wish to help you eradicate an invasive noxious weed (using your money lol) but only when it effects those binary digits on the accounts So basically some kid or someones pet has to get burnt first before things get done.

Reminds me of Watersmeet at the start of the river Mersey with a Tesco half a mile up the Tame (who argue they would lose revenue by putting coin locks on the trolley's because everyone might not have a pound in their pocket) and a Matalan, Asda & Aldi half a mile up the Goyt all adding trolley's to the Mersey weir pools, besides these being some of the most beautiful Weir's I've ever seen one day a canoeist is going to jump a weir and drown, its already nearly happened, then all of a sudden the council will pull a sad face in the local rag and say "we got it wrong" and all of a sudden will want to do something.

Mike the current thinking on the weed is that if you cut the plant at ground level when in flower but not seed formed, that plant has run its life cycle and will die at the root. Flowering and setting seed is in effect the last process of each individual plant life cycle before it dies for good.
Plants cut that are not at the flowering stage won't grow further that season but the rootstock remains alive and comes back the next season. It's why we give them a strong drink 25% right down the pipe. Gets to the rootstock and kills it.

The bad one said:

Quite Titus! But Mike's right about only angling clubs and river trusts taking action on rivers. Council's haven't yet caught up that the law has change and it's the landowners who are responsible for dealing with it. Either that or they are ignoring it in the hope the public don't know about the law change.

From a club's point of view, if they can afford it, it would be to their advantage to put some members through a spraying course PA6 and PA6W Costs are around 400-500 quid.

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Is the strong drink a Glyphosate based weed killer?

I would be very careful being anywhere around that stuff (especially if you intend on starting a family) at the concentrations being used (if it is Glyphosate based).
Traces have been found in the organs of all animal produce that has fed on feed that has been subject to its use when grown (mainly in chicken eggs and other species meats), regardless of what is said it definitely stays in the food chain (as in depth studies are now confirming) and its main physiological effects are centered around the mammalian reproductive organs.

Just my two pence.

wes79 said:

...I would be very careful being anywhere around that stuff (especially if you intend on starting a family) at the concentrations being used (if it is Glyphosate based)...

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Good point Wes,
Monsanto (the makers) have been questioned about their claims about the safety of Glyphosate - and of course we all believe safety claims by Vendors - don't we?

It's one of the reasons we are going for a 'holding' action at present - there are a number of studies going on at present into the long-term safety aspects of this and related products.

There's a lot of myths and mis-information on Glyphosphate - like "it's safe to use for waterside weed control 'cos it is inactivated on contact with water" - hmm? really? - so why/how is it used for aquatic weed control? I understand EA are looking at this one!

The other one is that its residual concentrations in some GM crops are higher than normally allowed - another good reason to avoid GM! - I wonder if Monsanto have any interest in GM!?

Do any of the Hogweed-infested streams, becks and brooks flow into drinking water supplies? - that raises another set of problems! mg:

greenie62 said:

Good point Wes,
Monsanto (the makers) have been questioned about their claims about the safety of Glyphosate - and of course we all believe safety claims by Vendors - don't we?

It's one of the reasons we are going for a 'holding' action at present - there are a number of studies going on at present into the long-term safety aspects of this and related products.

There's a lot of myths and mis-information on Glyphosphate - like "it's safe to use for waterside weed control 'cos it is inactivated on contact with water" - hmm? really? - so why/how is it used for aquatic weed control? I understand EA are looking at this one!

The other one is that its residual concentrations in some GM crops are higher than normally allowed - another good reason to avoid GM! - I wonder if Monsanto have any interest in GM!?

Do any of the Hogweed-infested streams, becks and brooks flow into drinking water supplies? - that raises another set of problems! mg:

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Exactly!
What happens when standards that having been set, can be over ridden easily by the fact that the chosen countries (mainly third world who are exploited to the max) that are contracted to grow and produce for us but don't have any compulsion to adopt the same limitations of usage, before exporting back to us in higher residual amounts the very thing we say we must limit?
How to side step complicity but ensure we all get a taste of the poisoned well first!

Now how's this for tinfoil hat conspiracy buffoonary....

Can anyone prove that GM's even exist at all without relying somehow on repetition of regurgitated media industry acceptance only, or that people haven't been hoodwinked into a giant hoax that has only served to generate and maintain the apparent need for large scale introduction of this herbicide, using third world hunger (altruistic argument) as a vehicle in a climate that existing herbicides have already proved an obstacle, having already previously effected the kind of trust you speak of but still convincing enough?

Although it sounds far fetched, how many have actually considered how hard it would be to rightfully dis-prove a claim that something does exist for certain and that more importantly it can be verified independently by testing being carried out by anyone but the very people that promoted its use from the beginning or any one company that doesn't hold the patent for it to even be tested legally nor need permission to do so by the same entity?
The herbicide had grown and been promoted alongside the GM technology all the way, almost like some kind of symbiotic shielding, mixed with a bit of unprovable scientific sci-fi fearmongering and mass public acceptance (mainly using fear and empathy together).

Seen any Chickens with Barbel heads on them lately?

No? Horses deformed by having Pigeon legs? No?

Oh? Glow in the dark pigs and photoshop it is then.

What's doing the real harm? the imaginary fish genes in your cornflakes or the residual amounts of accumulating Glyphosate sprayed onto the Maize plant during the growing season packaged for you to eat?

That's right, it's so safe you can probably bath in it (I wonder if Monsanto staff use GM produce in their own production site canteen's) would seem a good litmus test!

It is amazing what SFA have achieved, it shows what can be done.

Just one thought though – Monsanto’s patent ran out in 2000 so the other 40 or so companies using the glyphosate molecule must therefore be involved in a grand conspiracy?