Farmers across the state are taking to desperate measures to rid their properties of Australia’s most common plant pest before the first of the autumn frosts halt further chemical spraying.
With the first autumn frosts just around the corner farmers, faced with enormous downpours in recent days, might find themselves struggling to get sprays on malignant blackberry bushes.
The invasive species is a compound seeded fruit, which can make it’s spread almost impossible to diminish or monitor.
Neil Paulet, cattle producer, “Bucheen”, in the Tallangatta Valley, said he’s happy with his summer spray and is now spot spraying the smaller plants in the lead up to the first frost, predicted any day now.
“We have been using the classic combination of Brush-Off and Roundup to spray our blackberry bushes, now coming into the colder weather I am just spot spraying with a five litre tub to get the little ones I catch when I am out on the bike,” Mr Paulet said.
The Paulet family, alongside many of the North East’s farmers used to have goats to keep blackberries under control all year round, however, after the 2003 fires ravaged parts of their property and areas across the border, the goats were no longer needed for a period of time.
“We did use goats from 1989 through to 2003, we would fence parts off for the goats and we found they thinned them right out,” he said.
While the Paulet family have decided to stick with the classic concoction of Brush-Off and Roundup to tackle one of Australia's most widespread weeds, many other farmers are using different mixtures to bring the plants to a halt.
Generic brands such as Stinger and Fightback have been used with a mixture of Brush-Off, uptake oil and a wetting agent are used as an alternative to the classic mixtures of Brush-Off and Grazon Extra or Brush-Off and Roundup, the expensive pinch of controlling blackberry numbers is being heralded the driving factor for this alternative incline.
Alternatives to the Grazon Extra are generic chemicals. Round Up does kill grass surrounding the plant when the chemical comes into contact with the grass.
Some alternatives are known to avoid that situation and keep as much of the area’s pasture edible as possible.
Throughout areas of southern Australia blackberry leaf rust Phragmidium violaceum has been released to slow the growth rate of the plant and limit its ability to spread and multiply.