MEDIA STATEMENT

Measures to destroy the invasive plant pest Chilean needle grass

Environment Canterbury has implemented comprehensive control measures for the patch of invasive Chilean needle grass which has been located north of Cheviot in order to minimise the risk of spread from the site.

Environment Canterbury’s northern biosecurity team leader Laurence Smith said arrangements have been made to ensure that any risk of spread is managed.

"All plants on the site have been eliminated."

“Biosecurity officers twice searched a field of wheat within the property and destroyed the small number of Chilean needle grass plants that were found one or two metres into the wheat crop and in a corner of the wheat paddock.  
 
“A strip the width of a harvester has been left unharvested at the edges of the field. All the straw from the harvest will remain on the site to be used as mulch and the seed will remain at the site until the regional council has assurance that the seed will be processed in a manner which poses no risk of spread’, said Mr Smith.

“As well, all the machinery involved in harvesting and bailing will be fully broken-down and cleaned on the property and inspected by a biosecurity officer before it is allowed to leave the property.”

"The co-operative and responsible approach of the vineyard management and staff has been vital in dealing with this infestation," Pest and biosecurity portfolio chair, Eugenie Sage said.  

"The public can help by reporting any suspected sightings of Chilean needle grass to Environment Canterbury so that any other infestations are dealt with promptly. Please do not remove the plant," she said.

“This issue is of great importance. We certainly don’t want another nassella tussock-type problem and all effort must be made to control it,” said North Canterbury regional councillor Ross Little.

Environment Canterbury staff and a councillor met with representatives of the Hurunui District Council and local landholders at the site this week to explain the measures taken so far and plans for future action.

Environment Canterbury will host a public information meeting about Chilean needle grass on 19th February at 3.00pm at the Cheviot School Hall.

"Landholders and contractors can help avoid introducing the pest by ensuring that they do not bring in contaminated hay, stock or machinery from infested areas in Marlborough," Ms Sage said.

Identification pictures of the plant are available on the Environment Canterbury website at www.ecan.govt.nz. Anyone finding Chilean needle grass should contact Environment Canterbury’s Amberley office on (03) 314 8014. Please do not remove the plant.

The discovery of Chilean needle grass prompted Environment Canterbury to declare a small-scale management programme under the Biosecurity Act. This allows ECan to commit an estimated $95,000 over three years to an attempt to eradicate the plant pest from the region.

Chilean needle grass is a major problem for dry hill country farmers in Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay.

Identification of Chilean needle grass

Chilean needle grass produces sharp cork-screw shaped seedheads which catch easily in passing animals particularly sheep and burrow into skin damaging hides and downgrading carcasses. It can be distinguished from nassella tussock (Nassella trichotoma) by the twisted seedhead.

It is unpalatable to stock when seeding and it is safer to remove sheep from infested areas between November and March to avoid contact with seeds.

Chilean needle grass is most likely to be spread by humans, machinery, hay, and stock rather than wind because the seeds are heavy and tend to fall close to the plant.

Chilean needle grass is an “unwanted organism” under the Biosecurity Act.

It is more like a grass than a tussock.

Unlike nassella tussock, which is wind spread and unpalatable to stock, the seeds of Chilean needle grass are not generally wind dispersed, and it is occasionally grazed by stock except when seeding (November to March). Chilean needle grass while related to nassella tussock, is more likened to puna grass (Achnatherum caudatum).

Chilean needle grass, like puna grass, has three different seed regimes; seed heads, seeds at the nodes in the plant leaves or panicles and seeds that develop within the root system, all spread by stock, in hay, and by people and machinery. 

The seed head, referred to as ‘little dart’ in its native South America, has a sharp point and hair like barbs that can penetrate the skin of stock.  The seed head is assisted by a cork screw shaped tail that enables the seed to burrow through the skin and into the tissue.

The leaves are bright green and harsh to the touch. The plant may grow to one metre in the absence of grazing.

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