Controlling one of southern Australia’s worst introduced grassland weeds just got easier for Southern ACT landholders. With a $5000 grant provided by the Australian Government through the ACT Natural Resources Management Council, the Southern ACT Catchment Group has purchased a heavy-duty trailer for use in transporting spray equipment by landholders in the Lanyon bowl area in southern ACT, for serrated tussock control.

Southern ACT Catchment Group Coordinator, Steve Welch said, “Serrated Tussock is highly invasive, easily spread by seed and has huge environmental and economic impacts on native pastures and grasslands in south-eastern Australia.

“Climatic conditions in the ACT region over the last year have suited Serrated Tussock. The drought has reduced pasture growth, providing little competition to the establishment of new tussocks. The late spring rains last year ensured massive serrated tussock seed production.”

“Up until now the Lanyon Bowl Landcare Group has been sharing a ‘quick-spray’ unit to spot-spray chemicals to control the weed, funded by the Australian Government a number of years ago. While the group has appreciated having access to the spray unit, members have had to continually lift the heavy unit from one vehicle to the next each time a different landholder has wanted to use.”

“By setting up the Serrated Tussock Control Trailer permanently with all the spray equipment, landholders only need to tow the trailer between each other’s properties, saving heavy lifting, wear and tear and damage to the unit. By making the spray unit mobile and including a hand-held spray wand attached to a retractable hose, it will also save time and encourage greater use of the spray equipment and more accurate weed control so herbicides are applied more effectively to individual tussocks, minimising the impact on nearby plant species.” Mr Welch said.