Invading Mesquite and Cleaner Ways to Control it on Grazing Land
The issue
Mesquite was introduced by the mines in Broken Hill in the 1940s to re-veg skimp dumps.
The hybrid used was spineless and didn’t spread. Some landholders thought them a good
choice for shade and the pods nutritious for stock. Within a few years they reverted to wild
types which began to spread. Mesquite is an aggressive invader of the rangelands which
blocks access to watering points and shades out more useful plants. It’s a priority weed in
Western NSW. Mesquite is generally controlled with a brew of herbicide and diesel. Diesel
is expensive, hard on equipment and unpleasant for humans.
The solution
There are other products available on the market that don’t use diesel and instead are
mixed with water. Producers are reluctant to change what is working. Without seeing
results, it can be expensive to purchase new equipment and products that are not proven.
Western Landcare along with ENVU were able to have three demonstration days showing
the use of some alternative methods of tackling Mesquite and early results are encouraging.
The impact
Mesquite will continue to choke out native plant species unless practical user-friendly
solutions are found. 50 participants from the Western NSW rangelands were able to join us
at these demonstration days and were shown alternative methods to target Mesquite. This
has educated landholders/managers with a better way of controlling pest weed species and
has supported better land management practices.
Learnings
The interest shown in finding safer cleaner more effective alternatives demonstrates the
need for more support and information sharing in the rural farming community.
https://landcare.nsw.gov.au/groups/Western_landcare/water-erosion-a-practical-activity-for-schools
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