Poisonous plants are a major cause of economic loss to the livestock industry. Two poisonous plants common to Oregon are poison hemlock and Western water hemlock. Ingestion of either by humans or livestock typically results in death.
Silage-making has been used to reduce the concentrations of toxins in a variety of crops. But in the case of poison hemlock, the opposite is true — making silage out of it actually increases one of its toxic alkaloids.
Burning the slash left behind after a logging operation isn't the only method for getting rid of it. Among the alternatives are piling but not burning, "forestry mulching," creating biochar and doing nothing.
Mechanical and physical controls are among the most fascinating components of an integrated pest management program. This arsenal involves numerous physical barriers, traps, nets and other mechanical devices.
In integrated pest management, biological controls might include predatory or parasitic insects, bacteria or fungi, and biopesticides. More and more biocontrol methods are becoming available to the home gardener.
Forage quality of common pasture weeds was determined through laboratory testing to compare feed value of weeds to desirable forage species and nutrient requirements for grazing livestock.
Shelby Filley, Andy Hulting, Amy Peters |
May 2010 |
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