Plant Poisoning In Plants

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Plants comprise one of the largest categories of poisons known around the world. They form a major part of livestock feed, thus toxicities in animals consuming these poisonous plants can be expected. Poisoning in animals may occur due to either accidental ingestion of material eaten along with grass or willful consumption of poisonous plants when pasture is dry while most of these poisonous plants remain green all the year round. Poisonous plants cause significant annual losses of money by causing injury to humans and livestock. Undoubtedly, poisonous plants reduce the quantity of products that is gained from livestock, and some can even kill people and all classes of livestock. Recent studies have estimated that 3.5% of all poisonings that…show more content…
Most of the poisonous plants remain green and attractive for livestock that are hungry and thirsty, but due to the repulsive smell and highly irritant juices poisonous plants are often naturally refused by animals and are eaten only when there is shortage of pasture. Livestock that are highly starved consumes large quantities of toxic plant or graze over a long period of time and as a result, Livestock may be exposed for plant poisoning (Panter et al.,…show more content…
Diagnosis of plant poisoning in livestock rely on history, clinical sign manifested, post-mortem lesions, evidence that plants have been grazed, and remains of toxic plants in the digestive tract. If the principle of toxicosis is known confirmatory laboratory tests may be possible for livestock poisoned with toxic plant (Botha and Penrith, 2008).Good pasture management is one of the most important steps in preventing animals suffering or loss from toxic plants. Most poisonous weeds and cultivated plants can be controlled. It may be managed by fencing off infested areas so that animals do not have access to particularly hazardous weeds. An alternative method of controlling poisonous weeds is to spray them with approved herbicides or to physically or mechanically remove the toxic plants. Determination of the amount of economic loss as result of the effect poisonous plant to livestock production is not an easy task. This is because separation between losses due to diseases, accidents, and predators from losses caused by ingestion of poisonous plants can be difficult (Holechek, 2002).Most of the livestock’s are kept under semi-intensive or extensive systems of management making them susceptible to poisoning by toxic plants. With increasing human activities such as farming, deforestation and

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