Published August 27, 2010

Watershed Landcare are coordinating a chemical control campaign for serrated tussock in the Piambong area and are calling on landholders who would like to take advantage of this opportunity to get on top of any adult, seeding plants on their properties.

Resident landholders are also being encouraged to contact absentee neighbours who might benefit from assistance to control this weed on their properties. “We’re finding local resident landholders are concerned about how some properties are being managed by absentee owners. Some of whom are unaware of issues, such as managing serrated tussock, and their responsibilities as neighbours to people whose land is their business.” said Thea from Watershed. “There is a great opportunity to work more with lifestyle rural dwellers and we’re looking forward to staging an event in 2011 that will cater for the interests and needs of these landholders” she said.

The chemical control program is part of a Watershed Landcare project that will help the Piambong area becoming a strong line of defence against the spread of Serrated Tussock. Presently the Piambong area has low, but certainly very present, levels of Serrated Tussock infestation.

A highly invasive weed introduced from South America, Serrated Tussock is a perennial grass that has low digestibility and low protein. Even when green, the digestibility of serrated tussock is below the minimum to maintain weight in dry stock. In an overgrazed paddock it’s one of the last grasses standing and heavily infested areas are losing up to 95% production.

Landholders who are unsure whether they have serrated tussock are being encouraged to contact Watershed for a free on-farm survey of presence, density and distribution of serrated tussock.
“There are a number of native species that look very similar to serrated tussock, and there have been a lot of ‘innocent victims’ of the spray gun, with the resulting additional bare ground compounding the chance of further serrated tussock germination” said Thea from Watershed Landcare. “For a plant that blows off 80,000 – 120,000 seeds per adult plant per year, finding ST on your property is certainly not something to be ashamed of”.

Call Watershed Landcare for more details.

This project has been made possible through the Central West Catchment Management Authority’s - Reducing the Impact of Weeds of National Significance program.