RAGWORT CONTROL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 3, 31 August 1943, Page 5

RAGWORT CONTROL

NO EXPERIMENTAL TESTS LETTER FROM DEPARTMENT 111 reply to the. Whakatane County Council's enquiry as to whether or not the Department of Agriculture had conducted .any further experiments for the eradication of ragwort apart from treatment with sodium, the Department has replied in the negative. The letter stated that owing to war conditions no trials had been carried, out since 1939, but live copies of the Journal' of Agriculture containing articles on control of ragwort were, forwarded for the council's information, such to be returned to the Department in due course. To-day with the scarcity of .sodium chlorate and atlacide, the farmer is reduced to the old methods of pulling and cutting to i>rcvent. plants from seeding,, or of using arsenical sprays. The use of aged ewes offered the best method of control of large holdings where the usual methods would be costly. The County Clerk reported that j\lr H. Cleland of the Agricultural. Department, had called on the 11th instant and had stated that subject to the council's obtaining necessary indemnities arsenical .sprays could be used. The Department had 500 tons of sodium on order and if such came to hand such Avould be available to Countj' Councils probably on a rationed basis.