| WeedFree
Research and Development |
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| Through its ongoing work with environmental
weeds the WeedFree Trust investigates
and develops new ways to neutralise
certain invasive weeds on site, notably
wild ginger and Tradescantia (wandering
jew). |
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| The trust encourages property owners
to reduce herbicide use and avoid
removing green waste from cleared
areas unless absolutely necessary.
Overuse of herbicide can endanger
native plants and alter the soil.
Green waste going to landfill is costly
and takes up valuable space, especially
if it can be composted on site. |
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| Research
and development initiatives |
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| Wild ginger
The Trust established that wild ginger's
large rhizomes are neutralised (effectively
killing it) after a couple of months
under water. Once neutralised the
rhizomes can be left in the bush to
rot away, reducing the need for herbicide
or removal to landfill. We are now
investigating ways to speed up this
process in large 200-litre plastic
drums. Additionally we are trialing
the liquid residue from the drums
for its potential as plant food. |
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| Tradescantia
(wandering jew) As part of
our studies of Tradescantia and its
breakdown in confinement, we uncovered
a naturally occurring soil pathogen
which once activated, attacks and
destroys the plant within a couple
of months. We are currently investigating
this pathogen's potential as a bio-herbicide. |
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