The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Friday, August 25, 1967 — Almost every veterinary report on cattle fatalities in Rhodesia includes a number caused through umkauzaan.

And it is now, in August and early September that this dread veld poison plant is in full flush.

On a farm near Bulawayo I once saw seven beautiful Friesland heifers dying in a paddock where they had chanced to feed on umkauzaan.

Unhappily, nothing could be done for the stricken animals, because there is no known antidote for the poison once it’s ingested.

In October last year more than 250 deaths of cattle were reported from the Nkayi and Tjolotjo areas, and the Veterinary Department found that most of these were caused by umkauzaan.

In the Gwaai Reserve in 1955, more than 1 000 cattle fell victims to the same killer weed. Kalahari sand areas seem to be favoured by the plant, and farmers on such lands have to take special precautions at this time of the year to keep their animals off the danger spots.

Trouble arises from the fact that umkauzaan begins to send out green shoots in early spring. In the existing dry veld any green growth attracts grazing stock, which then fall an easy prey to the weed.

Since, as I have said, there is no known cure for the poison, the only safeguard against it is for farmers to fence off infected areas.

Expensive, maybe, but in the long run cheaper than losing stock. The danger decreases when the veld greens up after the rains in November and December.

After years of research no effective way has yet been found of eradicating the plant.

For what can you do to exterminate a weed that can send out underground runners extending 95ft horizontally and 45ft vertically?

Just a weed. And it’s like the fabled monster that grew a new head each time one was chopped off. Imagine having to dig 45ft deep to get rid of a single plant.