Funds:
Source: CfOC funding secured by BRG CMA for Serrated Tussock, Chilean Needle Grass, Gorse and Bridal Creeper weeds of national significance (WONS). Administered by NIWAC, SNEL delivered the awareness raising/education component.
Contract: BRG 09/10 OGW-WFP-0012
Serrated Tussock (Nassella trichotoma) accounts for a greater reduction in stock carrying capacity than any other weed in Australia.
The problem is...
- Heavy infestations carry only 1 sheep/2 ha
- The plant can be fatal to animals
- Serrated Tussock dominates pastures
- Plants are hard to identify
- Tussocks live for up to 20 years
- Seeds are viable for 14 years and pass through animals unaffected
- Each plant produces thousands of seeds
- Seeds disperse widely in the wind.
Management
While herbicides can provide the initial kill of Serrated Tussock, long-term management relies on the establishment and maintenance of a competitive pasture that is able to out-compete tussock seedlings and resist re-infestation.
- Identify Serrated Tussock and help neighbours to do the same
- Treat small infestations to reduce spread
- Develop a management plan for the long-term control of large infestations
- Apply herbicide at the recommended rates
- Cultivate arable land and sow a competitive pasture, such as phalaris or native grasses to reduce tussock establishment or reinvasion
- Use conservative grazing management to minimise bare ground
- Maintain or establish trees on non-arable areas
- Reduce invasion from wind blown seeds by planting windbreaks
- Remove scattered plants by spot spraying or chipping
- Monitor paddocks twice a year, every year, to achieve long-term control.
For more information on Serrated Tussock, contact the New England Weeds Authority on 02 6771 1700 or call your local Agronomist.
