Control Cowitch Before it's too Late

For those of you who are not familiar with this plant, it is commonly known as cowitch (Mucuna pruriens).

Its pods, when mature, are covered with fine hairs which are spread by wind and cause severe skin irritation. The chemical compound responsible for the itch or mucunain and serotonin.

Because the cowitch plant is a legume, its seeds have characteristically hard seed coat (testas) which survive for long periods in the soil and can also survive even when the pods are burnt. This hard seed coat, as well as the fact that the that the plant do not all germinate at once but continue emerging in flushes over a long period, present a problem in the control of the weed.

Except for diuron (karmex) which Jamaica reported claims to have some pre-emergent effect, there appears to be no pre-emergent herbicide available for effective control of cowitch.

In young sugar cane fields, where manual or mechanical spraying is possible, cowitch plants are easily killed with 2, 4-d sprays. The use of ATVs allows passage through relatively tall canes and facilities the continual spraying of cowitch flushes over a long period.

Constant monitoring and diligent removal over an extended period after the rains begin are necessary if the weed is to be kept under control.

Plantation management has always been aware of the danger cowitch poses to their workers, and most have ensured that their fields are meticulously weeded so that it does not get out of control.

Control has been more difficult in recent years, partly because of the movement of mechanical can harvesters and tillage equipment from field to field and estate to estate. Pressure washing this equipment between fields and estate has helped with this.

However, when agricultural land become idle, cowitch spreads rapidly – as is now seen in a large abandon acreage in St. John which is overrun with cowitch, the pods of which are fast becoming mature.

The release of irritating hairs poses a serious threat to the surrounding communities and could cause severe dislocation of these communities if some positive action is not taken as a matter of urgency.

School could be closed, residents could be forced to leave their homes, social events could be negatively affective and so on.

In addition, as the tourist season approaches and visitors travel across the country in open vehicles, they are exposed to severe discomfort when these irritating hairs are release.

Action needs to be taken now, before it’s too late, to destroy the large acreage of this weed either by spraying with herbicide or by mechanical cultivation methods.

As more and more agricultural land is abandoned and allowed to go to bush, the threat of damage to communities and the tourism industries increases.

Control of this noxious weed throughout the island requires the cooperation of not only sugar and vegetable farmers, but householders and owners of idle land.

All idle land should be kept clean of weeds using glyphosate or paraquat, with care being taken to avoid drift of chemical onto useful plants in adjoining areas.

The relevant government departments need to be vigilant and ensure that landowners control the weed on their properties.

Just as the African snail problem began in a discrete area and was allowed to spread island wide so can the cowitch problem get out of hand and become a national problem if no action is taken now.

Although many home remedies have been claimed to be successful, the application of an antihistamine cream like Benadryl, a local anaesthetic cream like Lanacane, or one per cent hydrocortisone (steroid) cream are recommended to give some relief – AVRTU extension pamphlet, October 2002, by H. de Boer,  Sugar Cane Growers Manual, 1992 and 1997 editions.

On the positive side, Internet research shows that the plant has medicinal properties.

The University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, Barbados Community College and the National Council for Science and Technology should have a closer look to see if there is a commercial opportunity staring us in the face.

Taken from: The Nation News Paper

Written By: The Agrodoc