L VING ON HE LAND
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These summer pastures can be
managed during late summer and
autumn to maintain groundcover that
will help prevent fireweed seedlings
from growing.
Winter or spring-growing pasture
species such as phalaris, cocksfoot,
fescue, ryegrass, white clover and
subterranean clover will compete
directly with fireweed. This pasture
combination is relatively slow to
establish and may initially require
selective herbicide treatment to
control fireweed. Once established,
phalaris and fescue develop into
large, tussocky plants that provide
direct competition to fireweed.
Grazing
Cattle and horses normally avoid
eating fireweed (and the pasture
below it): this can favour the growth
and competitiveness of the weed,
increasing infestation. Grazing
pressure needs to be matched to
pasture growth and availability to
avoid pasture decline.
Sheep and goats will eat fireweed:
they preferentially graze the plant,
and display a high tolerance to
its poison, and have proven to
be a simple, cheap and effective
management method. To avoid
stock health issues when fireweed is
present, land managers should use
a new group of animals each year
to limit the cumulative effects of
fireweed poisoning not grazing the
same group on infested areas for
more than two consecutive seasons.
Do not use breeding stock for
fireweed control. Either Merino or
goat wethers are the ideal control
group, or, if this is not possible, British
breeds or crossbred sheep.
Pastures contaminated with
fireweed should not be baled or
made into silage or hay.
Chemical control in pastures
Herbicides are a safe and
effective method of control. The aim
of herbicide treatment
is to minimise the
establishment of a large
population of fireweed in
autumn. The longer that
fireweed plants live, the
more seed they produce,
and large amounts of
seed lead to heavy
infestations. A well-timed
herbicide application
can be very effective in
reducing the density of
fireweed infestation for
more than a year.
There is a range of
herbicides registered
for fireweed control.
Established
1991
Bromoxynil herbicides
cause less damage to
pasture legumes, but are
only effective against
fireweed seedlings
and immature plants.
These herbicides should
be applied in autumn
soon after the peak
germination period
has passed. May, June,
July, August is when
the daily maximum air
temperature falls to
below 20°C, and damage
to legumes is less likely
to occur. Treatment
at this time will both
maximise the kill of
seedlings and kill immature early
season plants before they become
too mature to be susceptible to the
herbicide.
Herbicides that cause more
damage to pasture legumes have a
longer application window and can
be applied in spring if necessary.
These herbicides include Grazon®
Extra and metsulfuron-methyl.
When applying herbicides for
weed control in pastures, special care
should be taken to check and adhere
to stock withholding periods.
Hand weeding
Hand weeding (removing
individual plants) is appropriate
when infestations are very small or
isolated, and can be a useful form of
control in environmental areas. Wear
gloves when hand weeding.
Even after being removed from
the soil, fireweed is still toxic to
stock, and if it is flowering, it can still
produce viable seed. All parts of the
plant, especially the flowers, should
be burnt or bagged and destroyed
appropriately.
Slashing/mulching
Repeated cutting, typically at
less than six week intervals, can
reduce, but not eliminate, fireweed.
However, while it controls fireweed,
this technique is damaging to
the pasture, and should only be
considered where the pasture will
rapidly recover and outcompete any
seedlings.
Fireweed should not be slashed
in late spring or when plants present
are still flowering.
A danger of slashed or mulched
fireweed is that it wilts and becomes
more attractive to stock, which
may increase the risk of livestock
poisoning. Af ter slashing or mulching,
fireweed-infested paddocks should
not be grazed for at least two weeks.
Reference:- NSW Department of
Primary Industries - agriculture
Dargle Turf & Soils
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48 ISSUE 61 // June 2015
www.razorbackguns.com.au
HAWKESBURY DISTRICT INDEPENDENT NEWS www.hdinews.com.au