10 Nov 2012 – Field Day on Texas Needle Grass
Posted on 25 October, 2012 by Connecting Country
Would you know if there’s Texas Needle Grass on your place?
On the Saturday 10th November a new project will be launched in Malmsbury called ‘Needle Grass – A Community Response’. It aims to raise community awareness of the serious threat Texas Needle Grass poses to both private and public land in the Malmsbury/Langley/Taradale district. The grass, which looks almost identical to some native Spear Grasses, has been spreading in the area for many years and has recently increased rapidly with the wetter seasons. Some grazing land in the area has been rendered unusable by its presence.
Sea of Texas Needle Grass infesting a property on Post Office Road, Malmsbury. This is part of the project area. The photo is courtesy of John Walter.
This project is the first in the area to specifically tackle Texas Needle Grass. It will do so by raising community awareness of its presence, and the threat it poses, and also by mapping its occurrence on private land and roadsides so that future control work can be planned effectively.
A field day will be held near Malmsbury on Saturday 10th of November to launch the project and will include a demonstration of an EcoBlade – a brand new piece of technology (there is only a handful in Victoria) that can slash weeds and apply herbicide to cut stems at the same time. We’ll also be visiting some healthy Needle Grass infestations on the day. If you think there might be Needle Grass on your property or roadside, or you don’t know what to look for, then this event could be a real help. Click here to view more details of the event on the Connecting Country events calendar.
Importantly, this project is a joint initiative between many organisations – Malmsbury & Langley Landcare Groups, the Macedon Ranges and Mount Alexander Shire Councils, the Upper Campaspe Landcare Network and Connecting Country. Weeds don’t recognise borders, so the cooperative nature of this project, across Shires, networks and Landcare groups, will hopefully give the community a much better chance of controlling Texas Needle Grass, wherever it occurs in the district.
Project Coordinator John Walter is also looking for community members in the area to undertake some weed mapping of local roadsides as part of the project. Participants will be trained in the identification of Needle Grass and mapping techniques beforehand. This valuable work will be the first step in controlling Needle Grass in the area. If you would like to know more about being involved in the project, contact John on phone, 5423 9383 or email, john.walter2@bigpond.com
This project has been funded through a North Central CMA Victorian Landcare Grant.
I have some Texan needle grass on my property and looking for information on how best to eradicate it.
Hi Christine,
The most suitable method for controlling your Texas Needle Grass will depend on how big the infestation is, what the land is being used for (e.g. grazing, amenity etc.) and what resources you have available.
In practice, Texas Needle Grass can be treated the same as very closely related Chilean Needle Grass, which is a listed noxious weed in Victoria (Texas isn’t). It’s also a Weed of National Significance (WoNS). You can download a copy of the National Best Practice Management Manual for Chilean Needle Grass from the WoNS website, here: http://www.weeds.org.au/WoNS/Chileanneedlegrass/. Sections 1 and 4 deal with identification and control options.
As with other invasive plants, control will probably require follow-up over a few years, but it is achievable with the right methods and bit of planning.
If you haven’t done so already, it might be worth doing a thorough check to make sure that it is Texas Needle Grass you have. Some of our native Spear Grasses are almost identical to Texas Needle Grass and you really need have a look at the seed for diagnostic features. Section 1 of the WoNS management manual has some good photographs to help with this. A good local resource on grass identification is the ‘Central Victorian Grasses’ grass identification CD. It is produced by Ern Perkins from the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club and is very helpful when trying to identify grass species in our area. It is available for $2 at the Connecting Country office.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like further assistance. My email is max@connectingcountry.org.au or 5472 1594. Texas Needle Grass is a serious threat to agriculture and the environment in Central Victoria so it’s really worth doing something about it!
Cheers,
Max