The potential for repair of exotic stipoid grass infested sites with kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra Forssk.) with special reference to remnant native grasslands
Bram Mason and Colin Hocking, Victoria University, St. Albans Campus, PO Box 14428 MCMC, Melbourne 8001, Australia.
Summary
There are various new successful examples of using the 'spray and hay' method to re-establish kangaroo grass on weed infested sites in native grasslands but this method has had problems with reliability. Current investigations by Victoria University focus on increasing the reliability of the method and expanding its range of uses. Invading patches of Chilean needlegrass (Nassella neesiana) have been controlled by modified 'spray and hay' re-establishment of kangaroo grass at the Bullum Bullum reserve field trial site in the Shire of Melton, Victoria.
After three years the dominance of Chilean needlegrass in the trial areas has been changed from above 65% cover to approximately 10% cover. Treatments were successfully applied in replicated trial plots in two consecutive years across very different yearly rainfall patterns. At the same time, in treated areas kangaroo grass increased from approximately 5% cover to above 85% cover within a period of three years. Key factors for the success of this trial are seed quality, seed quantity, methods for introducing seed to the soil, timing of weed control, timing of seed broadcasting and timing of removal of thatch. These and parallel investigations suggest that modifications to the 'spray and hay' method are likely to result in improvements in reliability and efficiency of the method.
Plant Protection Quarterly (2002) 17 (3) 98-101.