Title: Victorian Mallee farmers face toxic weed threat
Farmers and pest management officers have been working to stamp out infestations of a new toxic weed in Victoria's Mallee. Three sites totalling 17 hectares around Birchip have been successfully treated for two-leaf cape tulip. Department of Primary Industries (DPI) spokesman Tom Lonsdale says the weed can invade a range of soil types and needs to be sprayed and removed by hand for several seasons before it is eliminated. "The weed itself has the ability to contaminate fodder and crops and is also toxic to most grazing animals, so in most cases it can make farmland redundant," he said.
Meanwhile, farmers are worried about a mystery disease spreading in chickpea crops in the Wimmera-Mallee. The DPI says there are several possible causes, such as a mixture of root disease, viruses and seasonal conditions, but there are no results yet from testing. Farmer David Feller from Litchfield says most of his 80 hectare crop is affected. "Going from yellow to brown, up to 50 per cent more are dead now," he said.