HORMONE POISONS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22617, 21 April 1948, Page 3

HORMONE POISONS

THISTLE CONTROL EXPERIMENTS IN HAND The possibility of establishing control of variegated thistle by some means of general application which would yield speedier and cheaper results than hand-cutting was discussed with keen interest yesterday by members of the P.B. Catchment Board, who regard the thistle as one of the obvious dangers to conservation of soil in this district owing to its habit of killing of grass growth and leaving infested areas bare of vegetation in the winter. The board had earlier dealt with a letter from the director of the entomological division, at the Ne'son plant research station, indicating that because of tne unsettled condition of the Balkans there was no prospect _of renewing the research there which was interrupted by the war. Mr. G. M. Newman suggested that in view of the fact that the “iron curtain” nad closed off the European home of variegated thistle, the use of hormone poisons probably offered the best hope ol eradication. Mr. Madden agreed with this view, and expressed the opinion that the goal to oe aimed at was the evolution of a method of dusting on the poison from the air. The Department of Agriculture was undertaking an investigation into the application ol hormone poisons to variegated thistle. Mr. C. D. Chamberlain, representing the Department of Agriculture, reported that to date there had been one opportunity of proceeding with this investigation, but a quantity of the poison was on order, and some progress should be possible In the near future. The control of variegated thistle was also the main subject of a letter received from the clerk of the Waikohu County Council, who stated that the council had instructed its noxious weeds inspector to see that owners of land concerned carried out the requirements of the Noxious Weeds Act, Mr. H. J. F. Tombleson stated that this instruction had placed an impossible task on the inspector, since the situation. had progressed to the stage where the thistle simply could not be handled by the farmers themselves. Financial Resources of Farmers Land-owners, he said, held that it would be less costly to the .1 to pay repeated fines than to tackle the expenditure involved in eradicating the thistle. He held that a more substantial fine would bring about a marked improvement. Mr. E. W’. McEnnis held that the board could wait to see the effects of the poisoning experiments taken up by the Agricultural Department, since these might evolve a control practice which would be within the financial resources of any farmer, whereas eradication by hand methods was too costly for most farmers. Mr. G. M. Newman considered that the farmers who had not kept variegated thistle under control represented only about 5 per cent of land ownership. Others had watched their lands year by year and kept the thistle down, but a minority had made no serious effort at control. It had been proved in noteworthy cases that the thistle could be controlled, even where infestation originally had been heavy. The cost was high, but it was worthwhile, and those who did not face up to the problem merely established breeding-grounds trom which seeds scattered throughout the clean lands. Mr. Newman agreed with Mr. Tombleson that revision of the Noxious Weeds Act, with special reference to heavier fines for defaulting farmers, was overdue.

The chairman, Mr. J. R. Hair, suggested that the catchment board had no authority in the matter of noxious weeds control, which lay in the province of the county councils. On his motion, it was agreed to acknowledge the Waikohu council’s letter, and to express interest in its endeavour to enforce the application of the Act.