RAGWORT
• Poisoning can occur at ANY time of the year
• Ragwort poisoning destroys the liver, leading to slow, painful death
• Poisonous to most animals but horses and cattle are most susceptible
• Once symptoms have appeared in an affected animal little can be done and it will usually die
• Acts in a cumulative fashion - a small amount eaten over a period of time is just as damaging as one large dose
• Animals eating 5 percent or more of their total daily diet of ragwort for periods exceeding 20 consecutive days can be expected to die within a 6-month period
• The plants
1st year - rosette stage - most poisonous
2nd year - stem/flower stage - each plant can produce 150,000 seeds, with a 70% germination rate. These seeds can hide under the soil for 20 years waiting for the right conditions to start growing making it extremely difficult to control
• A horse can get ragwort poisoning without actually having any plants in their paddock! Seeds/spores from plants in neighboring fields can blow over and contaminate a paddock apparently free from plants. A horse can eat or inhale these - and cumulative poisoning can begin
So what can we do about it? Firstly if it's your own land (regardless of whether you have horses or if horses ever graze the field) you have to face the fact that you need to eradicate it to stop it getting worse. The first three years of starting to control ragwort seem the worse but getting control over an infestation is a long and arduous job but very necessary. You can either spray the field, there are quite a few products available but whichever one you use please read all the instructions on the pack very very carefully making sure you follow those instructions rigorously.
Secondly we can pull it. This is best done with a Ragfork (tm) which is a great tool for the job. If done properly the Ragwort rosettes and larger flowering plants can be dug up intact. This is necessary because if any of the root is left in the ground the plant will just regrow the following year, so even though you may have stopped it seeding you will have to dig it out again next year. The hardest part to get up is the rosette form and so I advise you to invest in a Ragfork (tm) and use it when the soil isn't too hard.
Whilst doing this work it is advisable to use heavy duty rubber gloves, as it can be harmful to humans too.
Make sure that you get every bit you've pulled together and burn it. This is the only way to destroy Ragwort as if left the plant can re-root itself and even without soil on it's roots it will continue to grow on a rubbish pile and flower and seed by itself...hardy little plant!
Here are some great website's which explain about Ragwort:
http://bhs.org.uk/DocFrame/DocView.asp?id=1089&sec=-1
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environ/weedsact/weedscontrol.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/issues/2005/animal-0919.htm
http://www.robinsons-uk.com/products/BrandList.asp?groupCode=RAGFO
http://www.ragwort-uk.com/
The BHS website has lots of information about Ragwort from Springtime onwards.