Chilean Needle Grass Control Demonstration Day

An environmental weed of native grasslands in south eastern Australia, Chilean needle grass is also invading farms, roadsides and open woodlands. But there is hope with new techniques for effectively managing this nationally significant weed.

VIC DPI recently held a demonstration day which was aimed at helping public land managers, contractors and farmers reduce the spread of weeds such as Chilean needle grass.

Neil Hibberson and Pat Minogue attended the Chilean Information and Demonstration day at the Melbourne suburb of Attwood.

The main topic of the day was to determine the effectiveness in reducing the spread of weed seeds on slashers carrying out roadside vegetation control.

Two slashers were presented - one with a PVC type cover over the machine, while the other was operating with a fan.

Several runs were made with each machine with the slashers cleaned down after each run and the contents collected. Other information presented on the day were early stages of gathering information on seeds found in hay, the effect CNG has on bio-diversity, and the damages to native grasses when using Flupropanate to control Serrated Tussock and Chilean Needle Grass.

The need to be vigilant in controlling Chilean Needle Grass was evident when observing the state of the land where the demonstration was held. (wall to wall CNG)

A member of the nearby hunting club reported the seeds were causing a problem by sticking into their dogs mouths and becoming infected.

The data from these collections will be available at a later date.