One of the issues we have across our property is that fun-loving ‘weed’ Lantana (Lantana camara). It is quite rampant in the gullys, and is spreading down the mountain and across all our hills.
So tackling the problem was a big and immediate issue for us once we had surveyed much of the property. Dealing with it meant a little investigation and research as to the best ways to control the plant and do as little damage to the native trees and grasses as possible.
Options included:
- Slashing
- Poisoning
- Slashing and Poisoning
- Digging out each plant base
Poisoning:
We are trying to avoid all use of poisons where possible, so poisoning was not our first choice. In some very infested areas we did apply a foliar poison solution, partly as an effectiveness test and also as a control.
The results were poor at best. There was some death of the plants, but the majority just powered on. So we concluded – at least at that strength – that poisoning alone was not enough.
Lantana enveloping a Narrow-leafed Ironbark
Slashing and Cutting:
So slashing/chopping and cutting the plants was the next choice, and this of course worked well as a simple control. Plants were cut their base after access was gained through the main foliage, and then piled in order to compost next to the areas we had taken them from.
While this cleared the Lantana, we had left the bases of the plant in the ground. So regrowth is going to be a likely issue in the longer term.
For this reason, where we had isolated plants growing, especially in the steep hills, we cut and then painted poison on to the cut stump. Again this cleared the problem well, but we have yet to see the true outcome until we can confirm that regrowth is not an issue.
The battle against the Lantana continues..
Dave
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