Trials , results , knowledge gained
urine , and the residual hay as a seed bed for the broadcast seed .
• After the wet season , there was limited weed recruitment where good stands of forage sorghum had established .
• Follow-up chemical sprays of germinated weeds have kept the trial site weed free .
AUSCRIMPER SUCKER PULLER
The sucker puller was a very effective tool for treating scattered clumps and individual woody weed infestations .
About 500ha was treated using an experienced operator , with a 99 per cent kill .
The tool was modified , given the rugged conditions , with the manufacturer adopting the modifications .
DOZER AND FRONT-MOUNTED ELLROTT PLOUGH
• Stick raking or ploughing with an Ellrott frontmounted blade plough was employed across 400ha of dense , mature rubber vine , chinee apple , bellyache bush , parkinsonia , lantana and creeping mimosa .
• The Ellrott blade plough was highly-successful on the heavier soils on flood-out plains with a very high kill of rubber vine .
• Treated areas were successfully re-seeded with a competitive and productive forage sorghumbased pasture mix .
JET SPRAY
A 120ha trial area was sprayed using a custommade boomless jet spray ( 30m swathe ) with 7000l tank and trailer for foliar spraying with Metsulfuron Methyl and wetter and , as follow-up for the mechanical interventions .
Treatment was only carried out prior to 10am , as the winds increase and temperatures rise after this time .
KEY LESSONS LEARNED
• Always check legislative obligations to see if the planned technique is authorised .
• The bale grazing trial was effective , but time consuming and costly .
• A good soil moisture profile is desirable when using the sucker puller .
• Blade ploughing requires a dry top 10cm and ploughing should not occur if rain is forecast within two days .
• When foliar treating rubber vine , 100 per cent coverage of the plant is required to maximise the kill rate .
Strathalbyn grazier Bristow Hughes speaking about the MLA Weeds Trial at a field day .