Effective measures should be taken to prevent the spread of this dangerous plant. It has also been proposed to modify article 8.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which refers to liability for non-compliance with land reclamation obligations and mandatory measures to improve them and protect soils. They want to include the fight against hogweed in the article. Fines are significant: for citizens from 20 to 50 thousand rubles, for legal entities – from 400 to 700 thousand. That is, in the fight against hogweed they want to include a financial method.
-There is no insoluble problem with hogweed. There is ignorance and unwillingness to do. Have you seen a lot of hogweed in the fields and on the roads in Finland? Correct: no. Because even if a plant is introduced, it will be quickly eliminated; Otherwise, there will be heavy fines. Removing it using chemicals on six acres would only contaminate the land. It is necessary to dig up the roots before the seeds appear, says Semyon Gordyshevsky, chairman of the board of directors of Ecological Union LLC.
– The authors of the bill admit that in some regions of the Russian Federation significant sums from budgets were invested in the fight against hogweed, but they did not lead to a reduction in the spread of the plant. The reasons for such inefficiency need to be further analyzed before forcing landowners to take action in this area. A broad discussion is required on the topic and how exactly it is proposed to combat hogweed. Based on the research results, it is necessary to prepare teaching materials and demonstrate innovative techniques in documentaries, says lawyer Galina Belkova.
– We need to teach people how to properly deal with hogweed. And then someone waters the soil with saline solution. Someone cuts it off at the root (this, by the way, is useless, since young and even stronger seedlings will definitely appear). If there are several plants on a private plot, then yes, dig them up, but in large areas it is increasingly difficult and you cannot do without chemicals,” explains Liliya Shipilina, senior researcher at the All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetics. Resources that bear the name. NI Vavilova (VIR).
By the way, VIR employees conducted numerous studies on hogweed. Plants are known to produce a large number of viable seeds – 20 thousand per plant. But not everyone knows that seeds can remain similar for several years. In the second year there are about 80 percent of them, in the third there are few, but each of them, when it grows, can spread a large number of seeds. One more fact: in the first year the hogweed reaches a maximum of 50 centimeters and easily hides in the grass, only in the second year does it become enormous. This means that after destroying the hogweed, it is necessary to periodically check the area for the appearance of young shoots.
– Let’s say the bill is passed and everyone will try to strictly enforce it. The main thing is that enthusiasm does not disappear over time. At least for the next ten years, areas where hogweed has already been grown should be actively monitored, especially to identify young plants, says Liliya Shipilina.
The expert notes that dug up hogweed is an excellent fertilizer. The soil will be enriched with potassium, sodium, phosphorus and nitrogen. That is, it can be used in the field. But it remains a myth that cows can eat it without harming their health. Sosnowski’s parsley can cause burns, just like it does in humans. The only ones that calmly eat hogweed without harming their bodies are black sheep.
Of course, other non-dangerous species of this plant will also suffer from the fight against Sosnovsky’s hogweed. But who will teach people to distinguish them?
The Leningrad region was the first in the country in 2011 to develop a program to combat hogweed. Every year it is less and less. Both mechanical methods (digging roots, less effective – mowing, cutting inflorescences) and chemical methods are used. Considerable funds are allocated specifically to combat the plant.
– If the territories within the boundaries of settlements are cultivated with hogweed, then with privately owned lands everything is more complicated. Who processes and who does not. And there are areas (for example, where power lines are located) where no one is working. This is not settlement territory. The same goes for cultural heritage sites that are collapsing: who should fight hogweed near them? There are many nuances that should be clearly established in the law. Otherwise, the situation arises: you spent money, effort, cleared the area from hogweed, and suddenly it appears on the adjacent territory,” notes Alexey Muzalev, who for a long time headed one of the settlements in the Leningrad region.
Experts are confident that the new bill will be effective if all controversial issues are taken into account.
Opinion
Elena Esina, member of the expert council of the State Duma Committee on Ecology:
– They often talk about the danger of hogweed for humans, due to the possible appearance of burns and skin irritation. But the influence of hogweed on the ecosystem is also negative. This plant has the ability to create dense thickets that can suffocate and displace native flora, reducing biodiversity and altering the natural balance. In addition, hogweed can form dense creeping layers in the soil, preventing the germination of seeds of other plants and slowing down the natural regeneration of vegetation. To combat the spread of hogweed, special measures are required to control its spread, as well as soil reclamation, planting local crops and plants that can compete with hogweed.
