Biological Control of Patersons Curse: Establishing nursery sites in regions with late and unreliable rainfall and training

Summary

Biological control of Echium plantagineum has required long term investment by the AWI and MLA and local, state and federal government agencies since the projects started in 1988. The potential benefits of this program to the grazing industry and the broader community are being seen. The key to achieving this emerging success lies in the sustained funding and commitment the project has enjoyed, creating the framework for national collaboration between government agencies. This has allowed the effective transfer of technology for the successful delivery of biological control to the wool and meat producers affected by these weeds.
To achieve this, the Wool and Meat Industries funded a multi-agency project on introducing the biological control insects from 1988-1993, establishing them nationally from 1993-1997, concentrated on biocontrol delivery from 1997-2005 and then in 2007-2010 focussed on establishing nursery sites in regions with late and unreliable rainfall and also improving the competencies of weeds professionals and other collaborators to use biological control. This project has been highly successful, particularly in the establishment of redistribution networks within each state. The extent to which biological control techniques have been adopted and incorporated into weed management systems by wool and meat producers as well as other sections of the grazing industry is clear testament to the level of their support (over 2,700 farmers directly involved in the program).