THE issue of weeds is one of the worst problems facing agriculture in north west Queensland but producers got great insights into how to deal with it at a weed control forum in Richmond on Wednesday.
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Richmond shire mayor John Wharton said prickly acacia was the biggest problem in the mid west area but weeds were a wider problem.
“I’ve been given a new job as chair of the CRC (Co-operative Research Centre) for Northern Australia and pests and weeds had come up in the consultation right across Northern Australia as a big inhibitor to the pastoral and cattle industry,” Cr Wharton said.
CEO of Southern Gulf NRM (who organised the field day), Andrew Maclean, said weed control was the “number one talking point” in natural resource management in the region.
“It puts our communities under pressure, it puts our agriculture under pressure, it puts environment under pressure, but from pressure we see innovation,” Mr Maclean said.
“We need to find new solutions and we need to share those solutions.”
Nathan Morgan of Biosecurity Queensland said prickly acacia was bad but it wasn’t the only major weed threatening agriculture in the region.
He named mimosa bush, parkinsonia, mequite, bellyache bush, castor oil plant, rubber vine and calotrope as other major threats.
He told landholders they should report all suspect weeds to Biosecurity Queensland, local councils or NRMs, and get as much information as possible including photographs.
Wayne Vogler of the Tropical Weed Research Centre in Charters Towers said it was possible to “shut the gate on weeds”.
He said prickly acacia was mainly spread by watercourses and cattle manure.
“Otherwise it’s just a seed that sits on the ground,” he said.
He said management of cattle who eat prickly acacia pods was crucial and if they were spelled in the one paddock for seven to eight days, all the seeds in the manure would be gone.
The day also heard an update from Nathan March on the War on Western Weeds program and the Flinders Shire Good Neighbour program to stop weeds at the boundary.
