12th Queensland Platinum Sponsor Weed Symposium 15-18 July 2013 | The Boat Club, Hervey Bay, Queensland Gold Sponsor PROCEEDINGS DELEGATES’ EDITION Everyone’s“Weeds Business” - Platinum Sponsor Gold Sponsor Bronze Sponsors Technical Contributor desert channels GROUP Outdoor Demonstration Sponsor www.wsq.org.auEditors: Marcelle O’Brien (Chair), Joseph VitelliEvent hashtag:and David #QWS2013 Thornby CONTENTS SESSION 1: WHO IS DOING WEED CONTROL? LANDCARE, FARMERS, AND PEST/WEEDS: A SNAPSHOT OF CURRENT ISSUES Brett de Hayr ........................................................................................................................ 4 WEED SEED SPREAD – IT’S EVERYONE’S BUSINESS Peter Austin ......................................................................................................................... 7 CALOTROPE (CALOTROPIS PROCERA): A WEED ON THE MOVE IN NORTHERN QUEENSLAND Shane Campbell, Laura Roden and Chris Crowley ........................................................... 11 “TURN THE TAP OFF BEFORE YOU MOP UP THE SPILL” – PREVENTING THE SALE AND NATURALISATION OF ADDITIONAL WEED SPECIES IN QUEENSLAND Steve Csurhes ................................................................................................................... 15 SESSION 2: WORKING TOGETHER BERRIES AND BUNNIES USING THE CARROT AND THE STICK Craig Magnussen and Harley West ................................................................................... 19 SHARP ACTION IS VITAL Alexandra Kennedy ........................................................................................................... 23 WORKING WITH THE LOCALS – THE HEALTHY HABITAT PROGRAM ON THE TOWNSVILLE COASTAL PLAIN Jaymie Rains ..................................................................................................................... 27 SCIENCE, PEOPLE, LANDSCAPE; PREDICTING PEST AND WEED SPREAD IN THE QUEENSLAND MURRAY-DARLING BASIN Vanessa Macdonald, Janet Barker, Darren Marshall, Justine Murray and Rieks van Klinken .............................................................................................................. 31 SESSION 3: WORKING SMARTER - DOING MORE WITH LESS MANAGING PLANT INVASIONS: STRATEGIC OPTIONS DEFINED J.R. Clarkson and A.C. Grice ............................................................................................. 35 THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE SURVEYING FOR IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICE WEED CONTROL METHODS WHILST WORKING TO EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS Andrew Thompson ............................................................................................................. 39 NATURAL AREA WEED MANAGEMENT: A FRAMEWORK FOR COST-EFFICIENT RESOURCE ALLOCATION Andrew Meiklejohn ............................................................................................................ 43 AQUATIC WEED DISTRIBUTION DETERMINED BY UNDERLYING DIFFERENCES IN WATER AND SALINITY REGIMES Chris Kahler and Scott Fry ................................................................................................. 48 1 SESSION 4 COMMUNICATION – EVERYONE’S BUSINESS Jenni Metcalfe .................................................................................................................... 52 SESSION 5: TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SUCCESS OF WEED CONTROL IN THE PRIVATE CONSERVATION SECTOR: TRADE-OFFS, TRIAGE AND TRIUMPHS Jim Radford, Murray Haseler, Leanne Hales, Paul Hales and Paul Young ....................... 56 THE USE OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVs) FOR WEED CONTROL IN WESTERN QUEENSLAND Simon Wiggins and Desert Channels Queensland ............................................................ 60 ROBOTIC AIRCRAFT AND INTELLIGENT SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS FOR WEED DETECTION Calvin Hung and Salah Sukkarieh ..................................................................................... 64 UPDATE OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL RESEARCH FOR CAT’S CLAW CREEPER AND MADEIRA VINE Elizabeth Snow and Dhileepan Kunjithapatham ................................................................ 68 WEED INVASION VIA A WEED SHAPED HOLE: INADVERTENTLY GIVING EXOTIC ALIEN INVADERS A LEG UP Marcus Bulstrode ............................................................................................................... 72 SESSION 6: MANAGING THREATS BALANCING BIOFUELS AND BIOSECURITY: A CONTAINMENT STRATEGY TO MINIMISE THE WEED RISK TO QUEENSLAND FROM PONGAMIA Helen T Murphy, John Clarkson, Tony Grice and Darren Kriticos ..................................... 76 GLYPHOSATE RESISTANCE IN THE CRYSTAL BALL: ARE NON-CROPPING INDUSTRIES IN QUEENSLAND AT RISK? David Thornby and Joseph Vitelli ...................................................................................... 80 TROPICAL SODA APPLE, A NEW WEED THREAT MOO-VING NORTH Rod Ensbey and Philip Blackmore ..................................................................................... 84 EXPANDING THE LIST OF AQUATIC HERBICIDES FOR USE IN AUSTRALIA – THE CONUNDRUM OF DO WE STOP, WELCOME OR REMAIN NEUTRAL ON ITS EXPANSION? Joseph Vitelli and Andrew Petroeschevsky ....................................................................... 89 WEED SEED SPREAD BY VEHICLES Ikramullah Khan, Chris O’Donnell, Sheldon Navie, Doug George, Thi Nguyen and Steve Adkins ...................................................................................................................... 94 2 SESSION 7: TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES DOES FERTILISER HAVE A ROLE IN CONTROLLING GIANT RAT’S TAIL GRASS AND OTHER WEEDS IN PASTURES IN COASTAL CENTRAL QUEENSLAND? John Reeve and Bernie Shore ........................................................................................... 98 KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM DETAILED WEED MAPPING OF CONSERVATION RESERVES IN BRISBANE Sheldon Navie and Andrew Meiklejohn ........................................................................... 102 THE ROLE OF PEST CENTRAL IN DELINEATION AND CONTROL OF HUDSON PEAR, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND Moya Calvert, John Reeve, Brad Gray and Martin Bonwick ............................................ 106 HARNESSING THE POWER OF PEOPLE – PHONE APPS FOR NATIONAL WEED SURVEILLANCE Kym Johnson, Mathew Taylor, Geoff Norton and Greg Blackburn ................................... 110 POSTERS DEVELOPMENT OF AN APP FOR WEEDS OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND (3RD EDITION) Christopher Love ............................................................................................................. 114 PEST MANAGEMENT SOUTHERN DOWNS STYLE Craig Magnussen and James Eastwell ............................................................................ 118 OLD WEED, NEW FOCUS - AFRICAN BOXTHORN AS A WEED OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE Michael Noble .................................................................................................................. 122 3 WOODY WEED SPECIALISTS With over 50 years experience in Australian range and pasture markets and the broadest range of woody weed products, Dow AgroSciences can rightly claim the title of The Woody Weed Specialists For more information call 1800 700 096 or visit www.dowagrosciences.com.au ® ™ Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow. Dow AgroSciences Australia Limited ABN 24 003 771 659. 20 Rodborough Road Frenchs Forest NSW 2086 For more information call toll free 1800 700 096 SP 04/203 PORTFOLIO AD A4 V1.indd 1 13/06/13 1:39 PM Well-resourced Well-skilled Well-placed for growth Arrow Energy is going further and we’re taking Queensland with us. We’ve safely developed coal seam gas (CSG) since 2000. Our Moranbah Gas Project in central Queensland, Australia’s largest CSG gas field, has supplied gas to the domestic market since 2004. In 2006, we became the first to supply gas domestically from the Surat Basin in south-east Queensland. Today Arrow has 5 gas fields in production in the Bowen and Surat basins, which deliver about 20% of Queensland’s gas supply. We own or have interests in 3 gas-fired power stations, capable of powering 800,000 homes. 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For more information, visit arrowenergy.com.au Desert Channels Group … the weed control innovator: • information We have the answers to your weed control needs • survey from glyphosate to residual herbicides for long term • planning weed control made for Australian conditions. • control • target mapping • UAV • control clusters … the latest technology & techniques to get the job done Follow the leader: contact DCG on 07 4658 0600 or [email protected] Call Ray Gurney 0427 766 304 Northern Business Manager Powerlink’s commitment to managing weeds Powerlink understands weed management is a high priority for landowners and the wider community. Our approach to declared plant (weed) management is guided by the Queensland Energy Network Environment Forum (QENEF) Biosecurity Guidelines. It includes: 3 Working cooperatively with landowners and councils to establish strategies to minimise the spread of weeds. 3 Developing specific weed management strategies detailed in the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for each project. 3 Undertaking research into the spread of weeds and weed seed destruction. 3 Utilising and