-Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 20,2002 218 Poisonous Plants Of Pennsylvania (Continued from Page 15) and eat withered leaves, be may foster toxic accumula- cause these are more palat tions in weather unfavorable a bi e , with disastrous results, for plant growth. Drought At times, a few handfuls of may similarly affect cyano- choke cherry leaves may be genetic plants (sorghum, capable of killing a mature sudan grass, prunus species) cow. This type of poisoning so that toxic concentrations should always be suspected of cyanide are present. when animals dies suddenly Kinds of Poisonous Plants following violent storms A. Cyanogenetic Plants during the pasture season. Those which contain poison- Control The only safe way ous amounts of hydrocyanic livestock owners can elimi acid (HCN). Hydrocyanic na te wild cherry poisoning acid ties up blood hemoglobin danger is to pull out the and a sufficient amount of plants or cut them down and HCN intake quickly kills ani- treat the stumps anytime mats by suffocation. Lesser there are no leaves present, amounts may be sufficient to Spraying wild cherry leaves kill a fetus or cause shortness w i t h herbicides will make of breath (dyspnea) when the them deadly until the leaves animal exercises. a re completely dry. The Prunus Family All Sorghum, sorghum-sudan wild and domestic plants of hybrids, and Sudan grass are this family The Cherry cyanogenetic plants. Re- Family contain a glycoside search at Penn State has in the green leaves. When s h oW n that sorghum and leaves wither, the glycoside SO rghum-sudan hybrids breaks down into HCN and un der 36 inches in height sugar. Animals which are not may con tain deadly amounts especially fond of green 0 f HCN. Aftermath of these cherry leaves will seek out pi a nts is extremely danger- Washington County, Maryland Go a mile, turn right on Jordan Road. Go Vi mile to farm. New (2000) dairy grazing farm. May 2 Pen-Mar Acres Gil bert Martin, 17510 Broad fording Road, Hagerstown. Route 70 to north on Route 63 (Green castle Pike) to right on Broadfording Road. Ap proximately 1.5 miles to farm, just east to McDade Road. One hundred per cent grass, most seeded last year, crossbred herd. June 6 Brookside Dairy Farm Gilson Eby. From Boonsboro go west on MD Route 68. Cross Route 65, go one mile, turn left (south) on Reichard Road. July 5 Rick Reid Harpers Ferry Road. One mile south of Sharpsburg. Cow/ calf, EQIP fencing and water, perennial grasses, Marshall annual ryegrass and several warm season grasses. August 29 Peace Hollow Farm Myron Martin, 2148 Rohersville Road, Knox ville. MD Route 67, just south of Brownsville. Ap proximately three miles north of MD Route 340. ous after a frost or dry spell. Sorghums and sorghum hybrids can be safely fed to livestock if: 1. They are at least 36 inches tall when fed. 2. They are not showing recent frost damage. 3. They are not used within five days following a rain during a drought period. 4. Aftermath material is made into silage before feed ing it. Whenever there is any pos sibility that these plants may be toxic they should be put in a conventional silo (not an airtight silo) and allowed to ferment for at least two weeks before using as feed. During dry periods it is not wise to feed these plants alone as the sole source of forage. Sudan grass is much safer than sorghum or sorghum-sudan hybrids. Toxic levels of HCN are usu ally only present immediately after a killing frost has dam aged the green leaves. Thor oughly frost-killed Sudan Harvesting corn silage early. October 3 Leggett Farms Craig Leggett. From Alt Rt. 40. Three miles north of Boonsboro turn east (right) on Tom’s Road. Go l A mile, continue straight onto Lemuel Lane and go to last farm on the road. Established grazing dairy farm with TMR feeding. November 7 Aldine Eby. From Fred erick take Route 70 west to 1-81 north to Route 58 (Cearfoss Pike) go west 1.5 to farm. Grazing Dairy farm comparing Barcel, Barolex and Max Q tall fescues. grass pastures have been eaten to the ground with no ill effects if the grass has been allowed to dry out for a few days before feeding it. Sudan grass growing between 12 inches and 36 inches tall have insignificant amounts of HCN. The margin of safety using sudan grasses during dry periods is much greater than for sorghum oi sorghum-sudan hybrids for both HCN and nitrite-nitrate poisoning. B. Plants Containing Poi sonous Alkaloids. Text books list a host of native and ornamental plants of Penn sylvania which contain deadly alkaloids. Alkaloids usually produce symptoms affecting the nervous system. Convulsions, teeth grinding, abnormal movements or con duct, abnormal heart rate, di arrhea or constipation may be observed. Fortunately, most of these plants are ex tremely unpalatable. 1. Kinds of Alkaloid bearing Plants a. Water Hemlock and Poison Hemlock contain a potent, deadly alkaloid f f f»: PARADISE VALLEY Jkf finr ORGANIC FARM Specializing In Certified Organic POULTRY, DAIRY & SWINE FEEDS f'e/t&e/l rs FORAGE'S i.VVmJ'M.xUC’ for PROFIT We Use Only High Quality Fertrell Minerals We Are Able To Formulate Feeds To Compliment Your Grazing Management BARENBRUG GRASS SEED FOR EVERY NEED. Varieties In Stock For Your GRAZING NEEDS ABRAM (Bucky) ZIEGLER Fra® 1->S6A-437-21SA Milton, PA 17847 tmM conine. It is rare, indeed, that animals which eat this plant (usually the root crown in early spring) are observed sick or dying. They are usu ally found dead not far from where they have eaten the plant. b. Poison Hemlock is a more attractive plant than Water Hemlock. This is the “hemlock” that dispatched Socrates so swiftly. It is often used as an ornamental plant in farm gardens. The flowers, resembling Queen Anne’s Lace, are often used for large mixed flower arrangements in country churches and social events. In fertile, moist soil, both Water Hemlock and Poison Hemlock may reach massive proportions. Plants six to eight feet tall are common. Control The only safe time to remove these plants is in the summer when they can be found easily and pulled out. Be careful not to con taminate drinking water with juices from damaged roots. This plant is common in all of the central, northern and (Turn to Page 27) MINERALS Where quality comes naturally PENNSYLVANIA'S BEST SEED CORN J
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