Mt Wallace Project Update

As we watch dust roll over the state, it’s a reminder of how Serrated Tussock got established in the areas east of Mt Wallace and the lesson we must heed. The 1982-83 drought caught a lot of land managers off guard, and many paddocks were turned to dust when they should have been destocked.

From that point serrated tussock, a weed which had been known at low levels for some time, took full advantage and spread rapidly. It’s spread decimated the productive value of vast areas due to the lack of food value serrated tussock presents for livestock. The lesson from this lingering struggle is to keep competitive cover of desirable species on paddocks. This may well mean a change of priority from maintaining the best blood lines at all costs, to maintaining the paddocks to keep as much of the stock as feasible which may be very few for a time.

This is a principle being promoted from land managers on the Regenerative Agriculture side of things but has application beyond that system of thinking. Not only can prioritising good cover enrich soils, store carbon and improve water infiltration and retention, it will also make it much harder for weeds of all sorts to get established. Serrated Tussock is a prolific seeder, but its newly
germinating seedlings are very much limited by the presence of mature plants.

Not only will fewer seeds germinate, but those that manage to will be far less vigorous. This in turn can lead to lower treatment costs for those suffering from seed invasion or trying to finish off a persistent infestation.

To assist landholders to manage serrated tussock, the Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party have asked extension officer Roger MacRaild to visit landholders around Mt Wallace from Fiskville to Slate quarry road. Roger is helping to identify and map infestations and give advice on the best way
to defeat any plants found. Roger will be at the Ballan Autumn Festival, if you would like to drop in and find out more. We need to present a united front to stop Serrated Tussock from impacting the productivity of farmland further west in the state, because CSIRO modelling shows it would be very
able to.

For further information please visit www.serratedtussock.com or for assistance with broader property management issues join your local landcare group, visit www.mln.org.au or email
facilitator@mln.org.au to make contact.