County Control Of Nassella Tussock

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31237, 8 December 1966, Page 14

County Control Of Nassella Tussock

It was a great achievement that 18 counties, in a voluntary association, had agreed without much fuss to make the eradication of nassella tussock No. 1 priority, said the chairman (Mr W. C. Miller), at the annual meeting yesterday of the Canterbury Nassella Tussock Co-ordinating Committee.

“Our objective may be a long way off, but it should always be our aim,” said Mr Miller, referring to the activities of the committee and its inspectors in the area between the North Canterbury Nassella Board’s area and South Canterbury.

Mr Miller said that the work of the committee must have impressed the Department of Agriculture, for he had been invited to attend, next week, a meeting of Central Otago counties to discuss the formation of a similar group. The way the Canterbury counties had collaborated had, without doubt, influenced the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Taiboys) to introduce the subsidy scheme for private nassella eradication. Mr Miller was re-elected chairman

The Field Superintendent of the Department of Agriculture (Mr A. R. Dingwall) said that Ashburton, Heathcote, Malvern, Mount Herbert and Paparua counties had received authority to use the subsidy scheme.

There had been eight applications for grubbing subsidy, one for tree planting, and two for access tracks, to a total cost of £2347, on which £1173 would be paid in subsidy. The discovery of nassella tussock on either side of Russley road, near Memorial avenue, was reported to the committee.

Mr F. E. Hoskin, Paparua’s inspector, said that 82 tussocks of various sizes had been found in his area, and

Waimairi’s inspector (Mr W. R. Main) said that six tussocks had been found on the land opposite. Both said that steps had been taken to dear the weed. Mr Main said that a Stewart's Gully patch of nassella had

been controlled by grubbing, and Mr Hoskin said that all known infestations in the Halswell-Paparua-Springs area were controlled apart from seedings and young plants. Reports from other areas gave the following picture:— Ellesmere.—Main problem in the Rakaia riverbed, 23 known infestations producing an abundance of Seedlings. Since July, 42 mature plants and 1644 seedlings were found on riverbed or islands, and 177 seedlings were found on private property. Banks Peninsula.—On a

Mount Herbert county property, 30 plants were found over 500 acres, and while the main infestation seems to be controlled, seedlings are appearing. At Cashmere, nassella is scattered over 800 acres.

Malvern and Tawera.—No new areas located, and four acres of seedling strike on Crown land at Lake Coleridge will be sprayed, with grubbing elsewhere. Ashburton County.—Control in the upper Rakaia Gorge is showing results. Elsewhere, a steady reduction in nassella, but odd scattered plants still found. Geraldine County.—No known infestations. Levels.—No new infestations in the Tengawai river, and all areas appear to be under control.