Thread: Down on the Farm

I grew up with this mongrel plant causing all sorts of grief. My late Father was instrumental in having it classed as a secondary noxious weed in WA. With that in place we were eligible for free access to the Department of Agricultures control program. That included my first exposure to Land Rovers, Series 1 LWB, equipped with boom sprays. He also bought a boom spray that fitted on our Ferguson TE20 tractor.

The first spraying program used 2,4D Ester, which has been mentioned on another thread here, and later 2,4-5T. Added to that us kids had to pull out any that we came across and take them back to the dairy, where they were burnt in the fire under the big hot water copper. By the time that we sold the farm to move to a bigger one, the plant was virtually eliminated. But the people that bought it did not keep up on it and after a few years it had built up again.
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Paterson's Curse looks pretty, but it's on the rise in Canberra and it threatens native ecosystems

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/patersons-curse-is-invading-canberras-green-spaces-this-spring/12752154

You would be forgiven for swooning over the fields of purple that have covered hillsides in Canberra this spring.
But aside from a nice photo, the plant known as Paterson's Curse has not got a lot to offer the landscape.
It is an invasive weed that not only takes up space, but also kills off native wildflowers — and if ingested by farm animals, often kills them too.

The biological control released in the 1990s in NSW has pretty much eradicated it in a lot of areas. This years conditions seem to have suited it more than usual and there are a few paddocks around Yass. Ironically, considering its toxicity to them, the grazing habits of horses seem to promote its growth as it is often overgrazed horse paddocks where it is most prevelant.
When I was a young bloke around Molong we sprayed all the pastures with 2,4-d Amine to control patersons curse, star thistles and skeleton weed in early spring which kept it pretty much at bay before the biological controls were released in NSW


Regards,
Tote

Can't compete with those big runs! This was back in the 1960's on our dairy farm. We bought in a mob of wethers to top off for the export market and sheared them before selling. The Land Rover was my first; a Series 2 diesel that I later converted to a hardtop. With a hand throttle and a governor it would climb over Ayers rock, but if you took it down the beach it would refuse to leave! The black ute is a 1954 Ford Mainline that my Father bought new and we repainted it black enamel.

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Originally Posted by Tote

The biological control released in the 1990s in NSW has pretty much eradicated it in a lot of areas. This years conditions seem to have suited it more than usual and there are a few paddocks around Yass. Ironically, considering its toxicity to them, the grazing habits of horses seem to promote its growth as it is often overgrazed horse paddocks where it is most prevelant.
When I was a young bloke around Molong we sprayed all the pastures with 2,4-d Amine to control patersons curse, star thistles and skeleton weed in early spring which kept it pretty much at bay before the biological controls were released in NSW

Regards,
Tote

I guess the toxicity to horses depended on just how much they ate, although we never had any in the horse paddock. Also, the dairy cows would not have been exposed to it, but the dry stock, weaners and heifers certainly were with out a problem. The seeds are very hard if I recall, so may have passed straight through a horse thereby contributing to the spread of the crap.

It definitely was not toxic to sheep, as that is how is acquired the name of "Salvation Jane", I think during a drought in South Australia, where sheep survived on it.

Originally Posted by Old Farang

I guess the toxicity to horses depended on just how much they ate, although we never had any in the horse paddock. Also, the dairy cows would not have been exposed to it, but the dry stock, weaners and heifers certainly were with out a problem. The seeds are very hard if I recall, so may have passed straight through a horse thereby contributing to the spread of the crap.

It definitely was not toxic to sheep, as that is how is acquired the name of "Salvation Jane", I think during a drought in South Australia, where sheep survived on it.

Wasn't there a beetle that was introduced to control SJ or PC? Maybe it was just SA?

Originally Posted by 4bee

Wasn't there a beetle that was introduced to control SJ or PC? Maybe it was just SA?

Yes, as Tote has posted. There is also a photo of it in the original article.

Originally Posted by Old Farang

Yes, as Tote has posted. There is also a photo of it in the original article.

Not in this thread there isn't.

Originally Posted by 4bee

Not in this thread there isn't.

Paterson'''s Curse looks pretty, but it'''s on the rise in Canberra and it threatens native ecosystems - ABC News


The Paterson's Curse Crown Weevil only eats the infamous weed with the purple flowers.

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