Greetings all, The formal public consultation on the application to introduce two species of moths as biocontrol agents for horehound has now closed and it is time to take stock of the where we are at. The submissions are all available for the general public to view. You can find them listed under “Application Documents” here. … Read more
The application to introduce moths for biological control of horehound is now open for public submissions. To make an effective submission make sure you State clearly whether your submission is in support of the application Include your contact details Include quantifiable information about the impact of horehound on your farming operation (how much money and … Read more
Greetings everyone, We have reached a major milestone today – this morning the application to introduce two biocontrol agents for horehound has now been formally lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The EPA now has up to 10 working days to acknowledge the application had been received and to post it on their website … Read more
Greetings all, It is time to update you that the EPA application is progressing well. We are awaiting confirmation of details for two more issues and finishing touches of quality checks before lodging the application with the EPA. We will post an update here as soon as the application has been lodged, because the formal consultation … Read more
Update 3: Posted on behalf of the Horehound Biocontrol Group The ball is now seriously rolling towards biological control for horehound!Here is where we are at, as of late February 2018: We have now informed the EPA of our intention to submit an application to release the two biocontrol agents. The EPA will now issue … Read more
Posted on behalf of the Horehound Biocontrol Group Happy New Year everyone, It’s been about six months since the horehound biocontrol project kicked in and a good time to update you on progress. Feasibility Study We have completed the feasibility study, which constitutes the first stage of any weed biocontrol programme and was a Stop/Go decision point … Read more
Posted on behalf of the Horehound Biocontrol Group Greetings everyone, Following five months of patient waiting, we finally heard last week that our efforts have paid off – the application to MPI’s Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) to fund a biocontrol programme against horehound has been approved! Subject to some paperwork and contracting, the funding will be … Read more
The Horehound Biocontrol Group is seeking input about the magnitude of horehound problem, especially in Lucerne. With lucerne growing more widespread and already occupying over 150,000 ha, we notice horehound (Marrubium vulgare) is rearing its head as one of the worst weeds in lucerne stands, especially on extensive properties with ridges and areas with difficult … Read more
In this video, taken on 9 October at Ashley Dene, Derrick Moot describes in more detail the management we applied to the spring set stocked lucerne treatment for research purposes in order to develop appropriate on-farm guidelines. Weed control and the invasion of the problematic perennial tap-rooted and rhizomatous weeds which indicate the stand is … Read more
As a follow up to our last blog post on how to successfully implement a set stocking phase in you lucerne grazing system we thought we should show you what will happens if the stand is set stocked with either too many stock and/or for too long in spring. Basically, for research purposes, we’ve halved … Read more