MARK YOUR CALENDAR - June 22, 2013!
INTERNATIONAL RAGWEED DAY
The General Assembly of IRS (held in Ascona, Switzerland on October 6, 2011) proclaimed the first Saturday of the summer the
International Ragweed Day (IRD)
to increase understanding and awareness of the problem this invasive weed causes all over the world.
We are urging our members to take part in the orgainizing work and go online and share their ideas and actions.
As a conclusion of the discussions at the Second IRS in Lyon a clear goal of this year's IRD could be a push for the development of a five-year national program (a synthesis of these programs would lead to a Europe-wide effort) to reduce ragweed pollen concentrations to no-harm levels. As a result, spread of ragweed could also be halted: if there is no pollen in the air seed production would stop.
General Assembly 2014
Our Society will have its next General Assembly in early April next year in Milan, Italy.
Welcome to our organization
The Society has been created by researchers studying the common ragweed plant.
The main cause of allergy and pollen asthma in North America and Central Europe is pollen from ragweed (Ambrosia) a widespread genus in the Asteraceae. In Europe short or common ragweed (A. artemisiifolia) is prevalent.
This situation requires a tight monitoring of he plant and the implement of strong control strategy involving not only farmers but also the staff managing natural areas, road sides, building- and gravel industries.
The destruction of many single plant foci may help reducing the number of seeds produced and may slow therefore the spreading of ragweed.
Useful links
- Aerobiological Research Institute, France
- European Weed Research Society
- Pollenindex, Hungary
- European Aerobiology Society
- L'Ambroisie
- Meteosuisse - pollen
- Polleninfo
- World Allergy Organization
- Associazione Italiana di Aerobiologia
- AFEDAnet: site de l'ambroisie
- European Ecocyles Society
Follow us:
Photos
Further info
CONFERENCESRecent and upcoming meetings where ragweed-related problems are discussed.
1. Ragweed as invasive plant. August 6-10, 2011, Honolulu, Hawaii
2. Environmental and invasive weeds. October 2-7, 2011, Ascona, Switzerland
3. Ragweed in agri-environment, September 20-22, 2011, Budapest, Hungary
4. Second International Ragweed Conference. March 28-29, 2012, Lyon, France. The conference closing remarks are readable here.
5. 25th German Conference on Weed Biology and Weed Control. March 13-15, 2012, Braunschweig, Germany.
6. First European Ecocycles Conference. July 22-26, 2013, Palermo, Italy.
CONTROL MEASURES
Evaluated methods of ragweed control are listed here.
Ragweed pollen concentration map of Europe at the end of August is shown on this map.
NEWS FROM ITALY
Here you can read a brochure, a poster, and the Annual Report of the Local Health Authority of Milan. The files are in Italian but with plenty of figures: a strongly recommended reading.
PICTURE OF THE MONTH
The best ragweed-related picture of the month: if you would like to see yours here, just send it to us! 
If you would like to be a member, please let us know!
Membership fees
Individual: 10 Euros
Student: 5 Euros
Senior (> 65 y): 5 Euros
Institutional: 100 Euros