Alligator weed clogs waterways and causes floods, is toxic to stock and takes over pasture. Photo / Merania Karauria
Alligator weed clogs waterways and causes floods, is toxic to stock and takes over pasture. Photo / Merania Karauria
Alligator weed is on the global biosecurity hit list of "most noxious" weeds. It can affect farmland, the margins of waterways and aquatic environments.
A new project has received funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) fund to stop it from spreading across NewZealand.
The project will look at the on-farm impacts, especially its toxicity, and the costs of alligator weed. Researchers will aim to stop the spread in the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective way. Results will be shared with farmers, growers and rural contractors.
When asked what the public can do to stop the spread of the weed, Trevor James, AgResearch senior scientist, said: "Get to know what alligator weed looks like so that they can avoid moving it around. Sometimes it is mistakenly spread as a culinary plant but this is a misidentification.
"Note that it is both an aquatic and terrestrial weed so can be spread by anglers, water sports et cetera from one water body to another, and on land, it can be spread by cultivation and other machinery or attached to nearly anything that has been on an infested site. It only takes the movement of a very small stem fragment to establish a new infestation."
James said within Hauraki Coromandel there "appears to be small to large infestations throughout the region".
SFF Futures has committed $270,000 over three years to the $405,000 project in partnership with AgResearch and Waikato Regional Council, along with a network of the agriculture industry and local government co-investors.
James said the timeline for data collection to be turned into published results will be within three years, as per the remit from the Ministry for Primary Industries.
