Best Practice for On-ground Property Weed Detection

Summary

Through phone surveying of landholders and noxious weed officers, this project will better identify current weed surveillance levels and practices on farms and ways to improve weed detection. Because of the large area of Australia owned and managed by farmers and graziers, the project will use this information to develop a simple guide for landholders, on how to look for weeds, get them identified and report them to the relevant authorities.

Aims

The purpose of this research is to:

1. assess current weed surveillance levels and practices amongst landholders and noxious weeds inspectors; and

2. identify ways to improve weed detection by these groups on-ground.
 

Background

There have been attempts to develop guidelines for professional surveying and mapping of nationally significant weeds and in national parks, weed spotting networks, and surveillance techniques for weeds that have already been detected in Australia such as branched broomrape.  However, a large proportion of Australia is privately owned or managed by farmers and graziers, and yet no one has undertaken a comprehensive study to ascertain current weed surveillance levels and practices amongst these landholders or the noxious weeds inspectors (or their equivalents in each state) that already regularly check properties for new and existing invasive plants.

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