On the eve of the summer season, the Legislative Assembly of the Kamchatka Territory discussed methods of combating Sosnovsky hogweed, the press service of the regional parliament reports.
It is reported that in 2024, in the regional capital, overgrowths of a harmful plant on 218 hectares were destroyed by mechanical means and 3.7 hectares by chemical means. In Yelizovsky district, it is planned to continue the survey of territories this year, amend the rules for improving settlements and involve management companies and municipal enterprises in the destruction of hogweed.
However, there does not seem to be a clear benefit from these measures yet.
This year, it was decided to identify the growth areas of Sosnovsky hogweed in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yelizovsky districts during joint monitoring with the participation of biologists, said Oksana Gerasimova, chairman of the Agrarian Committee of the Legislative Assembly.
Sosnovsky hogweed is similar to the woolly hogweed endemic to Kamchatka, but it poses a great danger to humans and animals. Its juice contains furanocoumarins, which cause skin burns when exposed to ultraviolet radiation.
By the way, test strips can help distinguish between the two plant species, which are being developed by students of the V. Bering Kamchatka State University together with scientists from the branch of the Pacific Institute of Geography of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It will be possible to try them out this summer.