The Night-breathing Cactus Must Never Fruit
Posted on 14 May, 2015 by Connecting Country
The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group know a thing or two about Wheel Cactus.
They know that it breathes at night so as not to expose any of its precious water molecules to the sun, and they know that it can be left in the pitch-black boot of a car for three years without killing it – without killing it!
They also know that Wheel Cactus is spreading like a Triffid in Central Victoria. Once upon a time it was confined to a hill near Maldon, then it started to appear on hills nearby, and then on the roadsides and farmers paddocks and in the forest. Now it’s starting to appear in Muckleford, Yandoit and Castlemaine, as well as towns to the north.
The group is so concerned about its rapid spread that they recently held a workshop to tell land management professionals from around the district about their experience killing cactus, and particularly about their newest weapon – Daconate.
Daconate is a ‘Group Z’ herbicide which can only be used under permit by an accredited person. The group will not be using it at their community field days but they have recently done experiments that demonstrate it can kill a Wheel Cactus faster and with much less effort than anything they’ve used before. For weed control professionals and accredited landholders, it could be an important new weapon in the fight against wheel cactus.
The Group’s president Ian Grenda has not changed his take home message however.
“Just don’t let them fruit”
“The plants take four years to mature and set their first fruits, so they’re basically harmless four the first four years”, says Ian.
“But as soon as they set fruit you’re in trouble. The crows eat the fruit and carry the seeds far and wide; foxes do the same. The seed can remain viable for 20 years.”
If you would like information on how to identify or control Wheel Cactus, go to the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group’s website – http://www.cactuswarriors.org or contact info@cactuswarriors.org.
There is a wheel cactus in McNabb Road, Newstead. It is the only one I know of in the area. Can someone have a look at it please, and take the appropriate action to spray and kill.
Hi Neil,
Thanks for letting us know about the cactus.
The Tarrangower Cactus Control Group maintain a website with information on how to identify Wheel cactus and how to kill a Wheel Cactus plant. Go to http://www.cactuswarriors.org.
You can also contact the group directly via there email address – info@cactuswarriors.org. Depending on the availability of volunteers, one of them may be available to come and look at the plant.
Cheers,
Max
Keep up the good fight. Not sure if you have checked but you may require an off label permit for daconate as it is an S7 and may not be listed for use in Victoria for opuntia. Worth checking with chemical standards if you haven’t already.
Hi Glenn,
Thanks for your comment.
Is is indeed the case that Daconate is not listed for use on Opuntia cactus in Victoria. The Tarangower Cactus Control Group went through a process to get an off-label permit which allows them to use Daconate on Wheel Cactus (Opuntia robusta).
Cheers,
Max
The Muckleford Landcare group recently had a workshop with the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group. Their volunteers are so very generous with their time, obviously because they know they are dealing with something very important. Muckleford is going to do some weed mapping of wheel cactus, and then try and stay on top of its spread into the area. Thanks to the group for showing us how.