Allergy risk: ragweed – combat plants

Ragweed is also called allergy herb for good reason, because the pollen is feared by allergy sufferers and their doctors, the allergists. They are considered exceptionally aggressive, so aggressive that, in addition to severe allergic symptoms, they are even said to trigger asthma attacks directly. The pollen is “practically” also very tiny, and when allergy-prone (or simply skin-sensitive) people come into contact with them, they don’t notice it until the skin on their arms starts to burn, or small ones on the skin form bubbles…. these are really small burns that are treated with burn ointment. Ragweed can also trigger conjunctivitis and hay fever attacks, and the herb is so toxic that even cats,

Ambrosia – an uninvited guest

The ragweed species that is up to mischief here is not native to Germany, but was brought to us from North America. Scientists suspect that the first plants arrived in Europe shortly after the Second World War when agricultural products were imported. However, unpleasant accumulations have only been observed since around the turn of the millennium. Since that time, there has been a tremendous increase in the global movement of goods in animal feed and seeds. This has led to Ambrosia artemisiifolia being spread all over the world.

Not very much fodder is consumed in private gardens and public green spaces, but it seems to be sufficient if ragweed is introduced into these areas with the seeds and in bird feed. This has happened in Canada, in Asia and in some parts of Europe. Here, the ragweed has already become so established that it can sometimes no longer be controlled.

If we are not careful, Germany will face exactly this problem: At the moment, the ragweed populations in Germany seem to be rather unstable. The plant has not yet overgrown entire areas as in the problem areas. But the ragweed plants seem to be growing. Ambrosia has the potential to very quickly become a problematic permanent guest in our country, causing considerable damage to health, the environment and the economy. Because the mugwort ragweed only grows once a year, but it makes up for it with an extremely efficient reproduction strategy. Each individual plant develops several thousand seeds. These seeds remain viable in the soil for decades.

Therefore, not only allergy sufferers should pay more attention to the spread of ragweed in Germany: only if all citizens are aware of the dangers posed by this really unpleasant plant is there still hope that the educational measures will take effect and that the fight against ragweed will be successful .

prevention

Every citizen in Germany is called upon not to further promote the spread of the dangerous plant through their own actions. As a home gardener, you can do this to prevent the spread of mugwort ragweed.

• only use ragweed-free seeds, soil and bird seed in the garden
  • Use products with the label “Ambrosia-controlled”.
• it is recommended to use only large grain sunflower seed bird seed and to sift it before sowing
• Sieve with a mesh size of 4 mm, most household salad colanders are suitable
• The fine fractions that have been screened out should never be put in the compost
  • dispose of with household waste (residual waste).
• Regularly check the bird feeder and its surroundings, if there are ragweed plants, remove them immediately
• Do not dispose of bird seed waste or bird cage litter in the open countryside or in organic waste, but in residual waste
• Do not use bird seed as a surprise seed
• Leave nature in the garden
  • where native plants have a hard time due to unnatural conditions, ragweed has an easy time
• Mulching and ground cover ensure a fully closed (vegetation) cover
  • Ambrosia seeds have a harder time here than in bare soil

If you’re still one of those home gardeners who rely on soldierly arranged beds of bare soil from which any unexpected grass or “weeds” are promptly removed, maybe it’s time for a change. Because if our gardens and agricultural areas hadn’t all looked exactly like this for a long time, Ambrosia would have had a hard time successfully making its advance onto German soil. If you make your garden a little more natural again, you will also do something to make it difficult for the ragweed in Germany. 20 million allergy sufferers in Germany will thank you.

How to recognize ambrosia

Ragweed is a herbaceous plant that looks a bit like wormwood or mugwort when it’s about knee-high. Viewed from above, the leaf mass looks a lot like looking at an image of a single, magnified ice crystal of a snowflake.

Unfortunately, however, the ambrosia is quite an artist at camouflage. It will germinate sometime between early spring to late summer. When young, it can be mistaken for almost any other small plant or grass. Even the gifted botanists among you, who rightly suspect a tiny plant as Ambrosia, are further deceived. Ambrosia also grows very unevenly after germination. So you can look at a few stalks at regular intervals, which can become ragweed and on your next visit you will suddenly find a magnificent ragweed with a height of 60 cm.

When in doubt, simply plucking out everything that arouses even the remotest suspicion of becoming an ambrosia is unfortunately of no use. On the contrary, once all plants that can compete with ragweed have been eradicated, we can probably expect Germany to disappear under a blanket of ragweed.

You can find pictures of ragweed in all stages of growth on the Internet. But you don’t have to put yourself through that stress of identification at all. Numerous offices and authorities will be happy to help you identify mugwort ragweed. For example, your local plant protection office or the Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants (Julius-Kühn-Institut, www.jki.bund.de) – Here you can get any information you want, including the identification of a photo or leaf you have sent in.

The biodiversity project group based in 61169 Friedberg (Hesse) goes even further. She asks you to report ragweed occurrences in order to collect data on the distribution of ragweed from all over Germany. You can find the registration form at www.ambrosiainfo.de/kontakt.html at the bottom of the page. Of course, the researchers working there will also be happy to confirm whether it is actually a ragweed if you send in photos or plant parts. The Freie Universität Berlin (FU) also runs an internet database with ambrosia, the Berlin-Brandenburg Ambrosia Atlas, which can be found at http://ambrosia.met.fu-berlin.de/ambrosia/funde_anzeige.php .

In the Berlin area you have to fight against two Ambrosia. The annual Ambrosia artemisiifolia and the Ambrosia psilostachya, whose Greek suffix means “immortal” in German, and that is exactly what this species of Ambrosia seems to be. As long as there is only a small remnant of root left in the ground, this ambrosia will regenerate.

fight ragweed

Especially if you have spotted ambrosia somewhere in your personal environment, the next step is to actively combat it. But please don’t be rash:

• Ambrosia is extremely difficult to control
  • it has neither natural enemies nor does it know any plant disease
• Caution is advised when fighting
  • proceeding without prior guidance is not recommended under any circumstances
• if it is just a single ambrosia, you can simply rip it out
  • including the root and only with protective clothing (protective suit, gloves and fine dust mask)
• if you have an allergic reaction or suffer from sensitive skin, it is better to stay away
• Immediately place the torn plant in a bag and dispose of it in the household waste
• if the plant already bears seeds, you should first cut off the upper part in a bag and then remove the root
• no chemical control
  • herbicides that are successful against ragweed are not accessible to private individuals
• Ambrosia has already developed the first resistances
• There are no known biological weed killers against ragweed

Even if you don’t have much time and don’t feel like dealing with such annoyances as a mugwort ragweed: Please do not simply cut off an ragweed, leaving the roots in the ground. It will sprout again from this root in a rudimentary form and now concentrate even more on the formation of as many seeds as possible. In this case, it is better to notify an authority who will help you with the removal. Although you are responsible for combating ragweed on your property yourself, many municipalities have funding programs to support combating it. You will also receive other assistance in hunting and eradicating ragweed.

New strategies against ragweed are being researched

Since the fight against ragweed with the conventionally used methods is really tedious and requires a lot of attention from every inhabitant of an affected area, new ways are also being explored: the ragweed plant is to be contested for its place by another plant. In the district of Spree-Neiße there is a pilot project in which the previously unsuccessful biological control of ragweed is being attempted. On a test field of the Drebkau agricultural cooperative, the fodder and energy plant Silphie is currently being cultivated in order to research whether it is capable of depriving the ragweed of its habitat.

Conclusion
The highly allergenic ragweed should really be taken seriously, because it grows and grows here in Germany – around 1.5 million plants were counted in Berlin in 2012, and 1 million were found in Lower Lusatia in 2013. However, every single citizen can do a lot to prevent “the overgrowth of Germany” by this outrageous and intolerable plant.