Title: Paterson' s curse on increase in Ballarat area
[Ballarat Courier 10 Nov 2010, p. 27 By ERIN WILLIAMS] -- A NOXIOUS weed in "plague proportions" has been spotted at a Smythesdale property Paterson’s curse (Echium plantagineum) is an introduced pasture weed that contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids poisonous to livestock. A Smythesdale resident said the weed was growing in a neighbouring paddock in plague proportions. He said the weed, which covered about 400 metres of fenceline was spreading. "It just keeps spreading. I have never seen it this thick in the Ballarat area and I have been here for 11 years," the Smythesdale resident said. "I am concerned it will spread more if they can’t get onto it."
Paterson’s curse grows in warm-temperate regions, principall in areas with a dominant winter rainfal. It is found on a wide range of soils. The Smythesdale resident said he had seen it growing in large proportions around Echuca and Wangaratta, but not in the Ballarat area. "Because we have had this weather, it’s got down here," he said.
Paterson’s Curse can completely dominate a paddock resulting in endless fields of purple often seen in spring each year.
A Department of Primary Industries spokesman said the most important strategy to manage weeds, such as Paterson’s curse, was to keep areas free of the weed and to maintain good weed hygiene to prevent infestation.
Prevention of further spread can be achieved through: Undertaking control programs to ensure plants don’t produce seed.
A number of techniques including chemical control, pasture and grazing management and manual removal should be integrated. Control is most effective when plants are treated at the rosette stage; Ensuring hay and fodder is free of seed and that seed for planting is not contaminated. Seed can be carried in the coats and digestive tracts of livestock. Stock that have grazed infested areas should be quarantined for several days to minimise the risk of introduction of seed; Using only vehicles, machinery and equipment, including those of contractors, which have been thoroughly cleaned and are weed free; and Where a property already has infested areas, internal quarantine measures should be practised. Produce from infested areas should be separated from that grown in clean areas. Weed-free buffer zones should be maintained between infested and un-infested land, with a long term management plan implemented within infested areas.
Article: WeedsNews1307 (permalink) Date: 10 November 2010; 10:31:55 AM AEDT