The North Coast Weeds Advisory Committee ‘Beware of what you bring home’ weed-warning television advertisement screened on Southern Cross 10 in the viewing area from Grafton to Nambucca during November and December. To view a low-resolution version click here. (.wmv 1.76 MB) To view a slightly higher resolution version click here. (.wmv 3.47 MB)

A new collaborative regional approach to weed control is bearing fruit. North Coast weed-control authorities inspected more than 110,000 hectares of land in the first eight months of the Weeds Action Plan (WAP). They discovered dozens of new noxious-weed infestations and began control measures to stop their spread. The WAP targets high-risk weed pathways and high-priority weeds. Inspectors from the North Coast Weeds Advisory Committee’s (NCWAC) five local control authorities also checked 7724 kilometres of high-risk pathways, including rivers, roads and creeks, for known high-priority weeds. They inspected 4414 high-risk sites, totalling 21,964 hectares, for established and emerging high-priority weeds [...]

Koster’s Curse (Clidemia hirta) has just been declared a noxious weed for the North Coast region, even though it has never been detected in NSW. Queensland authorities launched a national eradication program when they discovered the first and to date only Australian infestation of the plant menace in North Queensland 10 years ago. Koster’s Curse is a highly invasive shrub, growing up to five metres tall. Far North Coast Weeds (FNCW) weed services manager Jim Willmott said this week the plant had the potential to spread rapidly over many parts of Australia. “It forms dense thickets that can smother pasture [...]

The latest version of the NSW Department of Primary Industries ‘Noxious and Environmental Weed Control Handbook’ is available now from the DPI web site. The fifth edition of the handbook is a guide to weed control in non-crop, aquatic and bushland situations. Contents include notes on integrated weed management, managing your legal responsibilities in applying pesticides, calibration of equipment, reducing herbicide spray drift, cleaning and decontaminating boom sprays and many other vital topics. Download the handbook here.

Read about the new weed incursion in our region – Tropical Soda Apple! Also a research project on mistflower smut fungus. Courses, conferences, publications and lots lots more!…….