In the Vitebsk region, over Br1 million will be allocated in 2020 for measures to combat Sosnowsky's hogweed, the regional committee for natural resources and environmental protection informed a BELTA correspondent.
In the Vitebsk region, over Br1 million will be allocated in 2020 for measures to combat Sosnowsky's hogweed, the regional committee for natural resources and environmental protection informed a BELTA correspondent.
The main part of the funds (about Br650 thousand) will be allocated from budgets of various levels, the remainder will be made up of land users' funds.
In total, this year the region is to carry out work to eradicate Sosnowsky's hogweed over an area of 3.9 thousand hectares. The largest areas of growth of the invasive plant were recorded in Ushachi (1.4 thousand ha), Vitebsk (772 ha), Gorodok (411 ha), Braslav (273 ha), Senno (258 ha) and Miory (255 ha) districts. When forming the work plan, the results of the inventory of growth sites of Sosnowsky's hogweed and Canadian goldenrod, conducted in August-September 2019, including with the use of a quadcopter, were taken into account. At that time, about 4.3 thousand growth sites of hogweed were identified over an area of 4.8 thousand hectares. "At the same time, measures taken to treat populations of the invasive plant by chemical methods over 2-3 years have allowed 804.5 hectares of them to be classified as potentially cleared of hogweed, although they are not removed from control in 2020," the committee emphasized.
In addition, specialists have established a slight decrease in the area of hogweed growth (by 15.3 hectares in total) in Beshenkovichi, Verkhnedvinsk, Dokshitsy, Lepel, Polotsk, Postavy, Rossony, Chashniki, Sharkovshchina districts and Vitebsk.
The main methods for combating hogweed will include chemical treatment (this method is planned to be used to destroy plants on almost 3 thousand hectares) and the well-proven method of bringing land into economic circulation (159 hectares). The remaining territory will be cleared by mechanical methods through repeated mowing.
In 2019, work to combat Sosnowsky's hogweed was carried out on an area of about 5 thousand hectares, including mechanical methods on 2.5 thousand hectares, chemical methods on 2 thousand hectares, and combined methods on more than 300 hectares.