Weeds Act 1959

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Weeds Act 1959
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (Variant 1, 2022).svg
Long title An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to injurious weeds.
Citation 7 & 8 Eliz. 2. c. 54
Territorial extent 
Dates
Royal assent 16 July 1959
Commencement 16 July 1959
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Weeds Act 1959 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Weeds Act 1959 (7 & 8 Eliz. 2. c. 54) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It concerns control of some weeds which are considered harmful to agriculture. The Act allows a minister to make control orders. It doesn't make controlling the plants listed compulsory. It does not prohibit anyone from growing them and it doesn't make possession of any of those plants a criminal offence.

Contents

Section 1(1) states: "Where the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ... is satisfied that there are injurious weeds to which this Act applies growing upon any land he may serve upon the occupier of the land a notice in writing requiring him, within the time specified in the notice, to take such action as may be necessary to prevent the weeds from spreading." It received royal assent on 16 July 1959. [1]

The Act preserved powers contained in the Corn Production Acts (Repeal) Act 1921 (11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 48), but which were originally inserted into the Corn Production Act 1917 (7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 46) by the Agriculture Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 76).

The term "injurious" in the context of weeds means harmful to the interests of agriculture. It does not mean the weeds cause injury. [2]

Species referred to in the Weeds Act 1959

Broad Leaved Dock

The Broad Leaved Dock is a resilient and common perennial plant found in grasslands throughout the United Kingdom. Unaffected by regular climatic variations and all but the most acidic soils, the Broad Leaved Dock can produce around 60,000 seeds a year and flowers from June to October. The seeds can survive for up to 50 years in soil due to a 'chemical that inhibits microbial decay'. [3]

Curled Dock

The Curled Dock is found mostly in meadowland, wasteland, sand dunes, and dry soils. The Curled Dock can be annual, biennial, or perennial, and can produce 3000 to 4000 seeds per plant. [4] Although said to contribute to animal wellbeing by providing nutrients which would otherwise be absent, it also contains oxalic acid which could be damaging to stock. [5]

Creeping Thistle

The Creeping Thistle is a common resilient perennial plant found in grasslands throughout the United Kingdom. Characterised by spined lobed leaves, it stands up to one metre high and blooms with light purple flowers between July and September. Its root system is very deep, extending up to three metres underground and six metres sideways; [6] as such, it is very hard to remove from an affected area. It competes fiercely with other plants or crops and can release a natural biocide into the soil to inhibit growth of other species.

Ragwort

The Common Ragwort is a biennial yellow angiosperm which can grow to 30–100 cm high. A ragwort plant can produce around 30,000 to 120,000 seeds but as this is a native plant in the UK these would on average only create one new plant. It can be toxic to livestock if it is contained in hay and it contains several kinds of Pyrrolizidine alkaloid which can, if the dose is high enough, cause liver damage.

Spear Thistle

The Spear Thistle is an annual or biennial plant which forms dark purple or reddish flowers above dark green spiked leaves. A plant found in pastoral land and along roads, it is easily spread by vehicles as they pass by. [7]

Related Research Articles

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Jacobaea vulgaris, syn. Senecio jacobaea, is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.

<i>Centaurea</i> Genus of flowering plants belonging to the daisy and sunflower family

Centaurea is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich. In the western United States, yellow starthistles are an invasive species. Around the year 1850, seeds from the plant had arrived to the state of California. It is believed that those seeds came from South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weed control</span> Botanical component of pest control for plants

Weed control is a type of pest control, which attempts to stop or reduce growth of weeds, especially noxious weeds, with the aim of reducing their competition with desired flora and fauna including domesticated plants and livestock, and in natural settings preventing non native species competing with native species.

<i>Cirsium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae

Cirsium is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles. These differ from other thistle genera in having feathered hairs to their achenes. The other genera have a pappus of simple unbranched hairs.

<i>Carduus nutans</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Carduus nutans, with the common names musk thistle, nodding thistle, and nodding plumeless thistle, is a biennial plant in the daisy and sunflower family Asteraceae. It is native to regions of Eurasia.

<i>Onopordum acanthium</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Onopordum acanthium is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and Western Asia from the Iberian Peninsula east to Kazakhstan, and north to central Scandinavia, and widely naturalised elsewhere, with especially large populations present in the United States and Australia. It is a vigorous biennial plant with coarse, spiny leaves and conspicuous spiny-winged stems.

<i>Leucanthemum vulgare</i> Species of flowering plant

Leucanthemum vulgare, commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced plant to North America, Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Rumex crispus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rumex crispus, the curly dock, curled dock or yellow dock, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia.

<i>Cirsium vulgare</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Cirsium vulgare, the spear thistle, bull thistle, or common thistle, is a species of the Asteraceae genus Cirsium, native throughout most of Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. It is also naturalised in North America, Africa, and Australia and is an invasive weed in some areas. It is the national flower of Scotland.

<i>Rumex obtusifolius</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae

Rumex obtusifolius, commonly known as bitter dock, broad-leaved dock, bluntleaf dock, dock leaf, dockens or butter dock, is a perennial plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to Europe, but is found on all temperate continents. It is a highly invasive species in some zones, resulting from its abundant seed dispersal, adaptability to reproduce, aggressive roots, ability to tolerate extreme climates, and hardiness.

<i>Cirsium arvense</i> Species of flowering plant

Cirsium arvense is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere. The standard English name in its native area is creeping thistle. It is also commonly known as Canada thistle and field thistle.

<i>Packera obovata</i> Species of plant

Packera obovata, commonly known as roundleaf ragwort, spoon-leaved ragwort, roundleaf groundsel, or squaw-weed, is an erect perennial herb in the Asteraceae (aster) family native to eastern North America. It was previously called Senecio obovatus. Basal and lower leaves are obovate with toothed margins, while upper leaves are pinnately divided. The ray flowers are yellow and the disk flowers orange-yellow, the inflorescences being held well above the foliage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noxious weed</span> Harmful or invasive weed

A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or livestock. Most noxious weeds have been introduced into an ecosystem by ignorance, mismanagement, or accident. Some noxious weeds are native. Typically they are plants that grow aggressively, multiply quickly without natural controls, and display adverse effects through contact or ingestion. Noxious weeds are a large problem in many parts of the world, greatly affecting areas of agriculture, forest management, nature reserves, parks and other open space.

<i>Campanula rapunculoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rapunculoides, known by the common names creeping bellflower, rampion bellflower, rover bellflower, garden bluebell, creeping bluebell, purple bell, garden harebell, and creeping campanula, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae. Native to central and southern Europe and west Asia, in some parts of North America it is an extremely invasive species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weed</span> Plant considered undesirable in a particular place or situation

A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals. Plants with characteristics that make them hazardous, aesthetically unappealing, difficult to control in managed environments, or otherwise unwanted in farm land, orchards, gardens, lawns, parks, recreational spaces, residential and industrial areas, may all be considered weeds. The concept of weeds is particularly significant in agriculture, where the presence of weeds in fields used to grow crops may cause major losses in yields. Invasive species, plants introduced to an environment where their presence negatively impacts the overall functioning and biodiversity of the ecosystem, may also sometimes be considered weeds.

Mechanical weed control is a physical activity that inhibits unwanted plant growth. Mechanical, or manual, weed control techniques manage weed populations through physical methods that remove, injure, kill, or make the growing conditions unfavorable. Some of these methods cause direct damage to the weeds through complete removal or causing a lethal injury. Other techniques may alter the growing environment by eliminating light, increasing the temperature of the soil, or depriving the plant of carbon dioxide or oxygen. Mechanical control techniques can be either selective or non-selective. A selective method has very little impact on non-target plants where as a non-selective method affects the entire area that is being treated. If mechanical control methods are applied at the optimal time and intensity, some weed species may be controlled or even eradicated.

Malva pusilla, also known as Malva rotundifolia, the low mallow, small mallow, or the round-leaved mallow, is an annual and biennial herb species of the Mallow genus Malva in the family of Malvaceae. Malva is a genus that consists of about 30 species of plants. This genus consists of plants named mallows. Mallows grow in many regions, including temperate, subtropical, and tropical areas.

<i>Leontodon hispidus</i> Species of flowering plant

Leontodon hispidus is a species of hawkbit known by the common names bristly hawkbit and rough hawkbit. It is native to Europe but can be found throughout North America as an introduced species.

Broadleaf weeds are unwanted tough plants that may grow in lawns, gardens or yards. They can be easy to spot when growing among grasses. They multiply with ease and can be very hard to eradicate.

<i>Phyla canescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Phyla canescens is a species of perennial herbaceous plant in the family Verbenaceae, native to South America. It has been introduced to Australia as an ornamental plant and low-maintenance lawn, but has become naturalised and is considered a serious environmental weed. It is known by several common names including carpet weed, Condamine couch, Condamine curse, fog fruit, frog fruit, hairy fogfruit, lippia, mat grass and no-mow grass.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 July 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Injurious weeds". Ragwort Facts. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  3. "Data". www.gardenorganic.org.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. "Curled Dock". Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  5. "Info". www.gardenorganic.org.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  6. "Creeping thistle - recognition and treatment". Archived from the original on 11 October 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  7. Down Garden Services. "Spear Thistle, recognition and eradication". Archived from the original on 11 October 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2021.