Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
INVASIVE WEEDS
CONTROL OF INVASIVE WEEDS IN AUSTRALIA
Sharon Corey from CSIRO Entomology/Cooperative Research Centre for Weed Management Systems
discusses how the problems caused by invasive weeds are being tackled in Australia
Introduction
Invasion of alien species across the planet is rated as being
the second biggest threat to biodiversity behind habitat loss.
Invasion of detrimental plant species (weeds) is one of the
most serious and expensive land degradation problems in
Australia, and one of the least known and understood by the
Australian community.
Non-native plant species currently account for about
15% of the total Australian flora. The largest proportion of
environmental weeds in Australia were originally deliberately introduced, often as garden ornaments.
It is estimated that control of agricultural weeds in
Australia amounts to more than A$3.3 billion per year. The
cost to our environment and loss of biodiversity is incalculable.
Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) a major environmental
weed across Southern Australia. Photo courtesy CSIRO
101
View Online
INVASIVE WEEDS
New South Wales and Victoria, with an increasing
infestation in Tasmania. The search is on for a fungal
pathogen that will be specific to serrated tussock, leaving
related Australian grasses untouched. While in South
America Mr Pettit will also be looking at biocontrol possibilities for Chilean needlegrass and blue heliotrope, both
major weeds in Australia.
Horehound
The Cooperative Research Centre for Weed Management
Systems (Weeds CRC) has introduced the horehound plume
moth and the clearwing moth as biocontrol mechanisms to
fight horehound in New South Wales, Victoria and South
Australia. Horehound is a pernicious weed, introduced from
Europe, which has established itself throughout SE
Australia. It competes vigorously with pastures, and its
prolific burrs are a major nuisance for wool producers.
Scotch broom
A moth, Leucoptera spartifoliella (a twig miner), a psyllid
(Arytainilla spartiophila) and a beetle (Bruchidius villosus)
are being used by the Weeds CRC in the biological control
of Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), which is a major environmental weed across southern Australia. These insects
have established on Scotch broom and form part of a major
effort to control broom in Australia. The seed feeding weevil
(Exapion fuscirostre) i s c u rrently undergoing testing in
quarantine. Research sites have been established to monitor
their impact.
Bitou bush
B i t o u b u s h (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subspecies
rotundata) is an invasive weed that is choking 70,000
hectares of SE Australias coastal ecosystems. The Weeds
CRC and ANZECC have recently released a best practice
guide to help better manage the weed. Bitou bush originates
from South Africa and is thought to have arrived in
Australia through the dumping of ballast by ships coming
from South Africa. After its establishment, bitou bush was
planted extensively along the New South Wales coast to
prevent erosion and rehabilitate land following erosion and
mining operations; this practice stopped when the plants
weedy nature was recognised. Its range now stretches from
Queenslands Sunshine Coast down to the south coast of
New South Wales. A number of biological control agents
have been released with two being well established. These
are the bitou tip moth (Comostolopsis germana) which
destroys the growing tips, and the bitou seed fly (Mesoclanis
polana) that destroys developing seeds. The latest release
is the bitou leaf-rolling moth which is capable killing
bitou bush under heavy attack. Larvae construct feeding
shelters by webbing together 2 or more neighbouring
leaves. Larvae then eat the leaves and stems within and
around the shelter resulting in death of leaves or shoot
tips. A field trial is also being carried out in the Eurobodalla
National Park, near Moruya, on the New South Wales
coast to control bitou bush using a management strategy
that integrates fire, herbicides and biocontrol agents
together with the deliberate fostering of native plant
growth.
102
Pe st ic id e Ou tl ook June 2 00 0
Bridal creeper
Bridal creeper, Asparagus asparagoides, is an environmental
curse found in every state across southern Australia.
Originally introduced from South Africa in the 1850s as an
ornamental plant, popular among florists, it is now out of
control. It is regarded as one of Australias most damaging
and persistent environmental weeds, and is a Weed of
National Significance. The first agent, a leafhopper (Zygina
sp.), was released in May 1999 and has established at
release sites across Australia. The community is now
becoming involved in the redistribution to other sites
infested with bridal creeper. The next agent, a rust
fungus Puccinia myrsiphylli, has just been approved for
release.
View Online
INVASIVE WEEDS
Mesquite (Prosopis spp.)
Mimosa (Mimosa pigra)
Parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeata)
Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus)
Pond apple (Annona glabra)
Prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica)
Rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora)
Salvinia (Salvinia molesta)
Serrated tussock (Nasella trichotoma)
Willows (Salix spp. except S. babylonica, S. calodendron
and S. reichardtiji)
Further reading
Panetta, F. D. (1993). A system of assessing proposed plant introductions for weed potential. Plant Protection Quarterly 8,
1014
Web sites
Weeds CRC http://www.waite.adelaide.edu.au/CRCWMS/
WONS http://www.weeds.org.au/natsig.htm
CSIRO Entomology Weed Management
http://www.ento.csiro.au/research/weedmgmt/weedmgmt.html
Literature
Groves, R. H.; Hosking, J. R. (1997). Recent Incursions of Weeds
to Australia 19711995. CRC for Weed Management Systems
Technical Series No. 3.
Lonsdale, W. M. (1994). Inviting trouble: Introduced pasture
species in northern Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 19,
345354
Lonsdale, W. M. (1999). Global patterns of plant invasions and
the concept of invasibility. Ecology 80(5), 15221536
Sharon Corey has worked with CSIRO since 1988 after completing a
Bachelor of Applied Science (Agriculture). Since 1990 Sharon has
been the Scientific Liaison Officer with the Weed Management
Program at CSIRO Entomology where the research field of expertise
is the biological control of weeds.
225.00
250.00
425.00
18.50
140.00
49.50
69.50
Order to be sent to Sales and Customer Care, Royal Society of Chemistry, Thomas Graham House, Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 0WF, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1223 420066. Fax: +44 (0)1223 423429. e-mail: sales@rsc.org.
103