[Bendigo Advertiser, 27 October, 2010, p. 39, by Jonathon Howard] -- INGLEWOOD landholder Helen White is calling for urgent action to stamp out the dangerous weed Paterson’s Curse, which she says is spreading across Victorian farmland. The purple flower, which resembles lavender, is choking fields across the north-west of Victoria and is described by experts as a dangerous pest.
Paterson’s Curse, also known as Riverina Bluebell, has already flourished across NSW and Ms White said the weed was spreading further south. According to the CSIRO, the weed contains a poison that can increase photosensitivity in plants and kill livestock if they eat too much.
But a spokesperson from the Victorian DPI, who did not want to be named, said Patterson’s Curse had reached its full climatic range in Australia and the issue was not so much about the spread of the weed but rather an increase in growth."DPI records the location of reports of Paterson’s Curse and this provides information on trends in its abundance."
"The overall threat of this weed to Victoria is not thought to be increasing; in fact it is decreasing in some places where biological control is beginning to work."
"However, there are also places where it is becoming locally more common."
The DPI spokesperson said the spread of Paterson’s Curse fluctuated greatly from year to year according to the season. "Victoria’s weed risk assessment system does not rank the threat from Paterson’s Cnrse very high overall, althongh clearly it can cause considerable problems to some landholders."
For more information on Paterson’s Curse, log on to the DPI website at dpi.vic.gov.au.
Article: WeedsNews1240 (permalink) Date: 27 October 2010; 11:22:33 AM AEDT