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Agricultural

24 March, 2022

Pest and weed experts come to Oakey

Biosecurity expert from Southern Queensland Landscapes (SQL) Jim O’Sullivan and agronomist Paul McIntosh delivered a conference at the Oakey RSL on pest and weed management.


The conference was funded by the state government and was hosted by SQL and North East Downs Landcare. 

SQL offers pest and weed removal services across a large area, including the Condamine catchment, Queensland Murray-Darling Basin and the South West and Mulga Lands.

WEEDS

“We are seeing a rise in weeds we don’t normally see,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“We regularly monitor the Warrego Highway from Toowoomba towards the Western Downs, where single weeds tend to grow from soil being carried and transferred by trucks,” he said.

Mr O’Sullivan said the weeds of most concern are parthenium, Chilean needle grass and giant rats tail.

He said some of the toxic side effects of parthenium for humans include severe dermatitis and respiratory problems which can trigger asthma. 

“You should always were gloves when pulling out weeds,” Mr O’Sullivan said. 

He said on his way to the conference, he saw parthenium on the side of the road and pulled it out with his bare hands so he could show everyone. 

However, when he got back in the car his hands became itchy and irritated from the direct contact with the specimen.

Additionally, weeds can also cause health problems in livestock. 

“The main issue with parthenium is that it’s a self-serving plant which kills everything around it so that it doesn’t have to compete for nutrients,” he said. 

Mr O’Sullivan said Chilean needle grass is prominent around the Clifton Showgrounds. 

“It has a purple tinge to the top of it once fully grown, which makes it hard to identify in the early stages,” he said.

“It’s most detrimental to sheep because when fully grown it develops a sharp spearhead which can pierce skin.” 

Mr O’Sullivan said it is hard to eradicate due to the volume of seeds per plant. 

“You can easily kill the plant, but the seeds are the problem,” he said.

Giant rats tail comes at the top of the list with 85,000 seeds per square metre and the seeds are viable for up to 10 years.

Mr O’Sulllivan  said fortunately giant rats tail is only in pockets and is not widespread.

“This weed spreads mainly through animal movement,” he said.

“When the seeds get wet, they become sticky and cling to skin and fur.

“A lot of that spread comes from cattle trucks travelling along the highway.

“We are trying to get continual yearly voluntary compliance among producers.

“It’s not a one time fix, but something that needs preventing and treating every year.”

PESTS

“We are seeing a large rise in our feral pig population,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“There’s been good rain and plenty of crops for them,” he said.

SQL runs coordinated baiting programs for feral pigs.

“This requires farmers to start pre-feed [feral] pigs and then the service will come and take care of it.”

Mr O’Sullivan high-lighted how feral cats are another recurring pest.

“We have boxes with an algorithm that can determine if an animal walking past is a feral cat,” he said.

“It captures it [the feral cat] and sprays them with toxins on their coat, which they then lick off when grooming themselves.

“The big problem is that cats aren’t registered like dogs.

“There’s also a big population of wild deers in Drayton and Wellcamp, mostly around Cherry Creek.” 


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