Community
13 February, 2025
Conservationists issue toxic weed warning
AN innocuous trip to get petrol has resulted in a Laang-based conservationist urging farmers to be on the lookout for a toxic weed.
Biodiversity Innovation Au’s Lisette Mills recently stopped for petrol in Warrnambool and was surprised to find a noxious weed called Heliotropium europaeum growing in the garden not too far from the pumps.
“It could only have gotten there from the seed dropping onto the forecourt from vehicles and machinery,” she said.
The weed is an introduced European weed more common in drier climates found north of Hamilton and Ballarat.
Ms Mills said occurrence data shows it has seldom been an officially noted problem weed for farmers in south west Victoria, but fears its prominence is rapidly changing due to the drought conditions in Moyne, Warrnambool, Glenelg, Corangamite and Southern Grampians.
She said there had been a recent rise in the places the highly invasive plant was being seen by farmers, weed experts, and agronomists.
“The key to keeping this highly invasive weed out of the district is everyone educating themselves, being able to recognize it and killing it when they see it,” Ms Mills said.
The Common Heliotrope is known to thrive on the bare ground seen during drought conditions.
This is a problem because this weed, when eaten by livestock, including horses, can cause irreversible liver damage and can kill.
The seed can also contaminate grain harvest, causing crops to be downgraded and even rejected.
Agrivet Business Consulting’s Graham Lean is concerned south west farmers and landholders may not have encountered it before or know the danger it poses.
He urged farmers to keep an eye out for the weed.
“I’m seeing more of it in particular in this season where feed is short,” he said.
“It is spread by livestock and machinery.
“Its impact on livestock health can be cumulative and long term.
“It could get out of control quite quickly if farms aren’t aware of it and let it go.”
Like all new weed invaders, eradicating it before it becomes common is key to protecting our agricultural industry and environment.
Those who come across the weed are encouraged to take steps to eradicate it now.
For more information on control visit https://weeds.org.au/profiles/common-heliotrope-potato/#prosection4.
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