IVMP - the Integrated Vegetation Management Project

The Summer 2010/11 edition of the IVMP Newsletter is now available on the IVMP website.

2011-01-25T07:52:00.000+10:00

After three years, the research component of the Integrated Vegetation Management Program (IVMP) project has come to an end.

Drawing on knowledge, experience and a variety of trials in Queensland and New South Wales, the IVMP has highlighted the significant benefits of taking an integrated approach to mown vegetation management.

As a result of the IVMP project, a range of aligned projects have been undertaken over the past eighteen months. These projects have focussed on better ways of managing urban vegetation in both public open spaces and industrial areas. Articles detailing some of this work, such as the Powerlink IVM trials and the Gold Coast City Council IVM trials, are featured in this newsletter and available on the website.

Further to this, pilot programs are currently being coordinated with Brisbane City Council and Gold Coast City Council. It is envisaged that these pilot programs will take what has been learned from the IVMP project to prove its value in real world situations. These pilot programs will use the options that are already registered for use, and apply them to specific vegetation management situations using the IVM methodology.

The final report for the IVMP project has been submitted to Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) and will be published in the near future.

Please do not hesitate to contact me personally if you have any questions regarding the IVMP project, our other recent research projects, or if you are interested in discussing opportunities to be involved in our future research.

International links built with scientists through the IVMP

2011-01-04T11:50:00.001+10:00

During the three years of the IVMP project links have been forged between researchers here in Australia and scientists in the USA that are working in the field of turf and roadside vegetation management. In particular, a strong scientific relationship has been developed with Prof. Fred Yelverton and Travis Gannon from North Carolina State University (NCSU). Much of the premise behind the IVMP project was based on the research of these scientists, so having them involved with the project played a large part in its success.

In the early stages of the IVMP project, the project manager, Steve Hampton, and the CEO of Technigro, Nick Bloor, visited the US. The purpose of this visit was to look at integrated management strategies for mown vegetation in the US, from appropriate species selection through to the use of plant growth regulators and herbicides with growth regulatory effects.

The project representatives met with a broad spectrum of people involved in vegetation management in the US, including Prof. Yelverton, so as to better understand the successes and challenges faced by researchers, asset owners, asset managers, Vegetation Management service providers and product suppliers.

Fred Yelverton is a Professor of Crop Science and Extension Specialist, and is also Co-director of the Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education (CENTERE) at NCSU. His specialist research interests include weed management systems in turfgrasses, the ecology of turfgrass weeds, and the ecological and physiological effects of plant growth regulators on turfgrasses.

Fred visited Australia for two weeks in September 2010, during which time he worked closely with other members of the IVMP Technical Team and had the opportunity to interact with local vegetation managers and gain an understanding of the management issues we face here in Australia. He also gave presentations on IVM at the Vegetation Manager's Forum at the Gold Coast on 21 September, before heading over to Christchurch, New Zealand, where he was the keynote speaker at the 17th Australasian Weeds Conference.

Travis Gannon assists Prof. Yelverton in coordinating projects in all facets of weed management and plant growth regulator use in turf including sports turf, golf courses, and roadsides. He is currently completing his PhD and has worked closely with the North Carolina Department of Transport devising Integrated Vegetation Management plans for roadsides and other non-crop areas. Travis visited Australia in August 2009 and gave some insightful direction for the final year of IVMP project, based on his experiences from the US. He also gave a presentation to over 80 attendees at the IVMP Vegetation Managers Forum on 19th of August 2009.

Both Fred and Travis are excited by the fact that IVM is gaining a foothold here in Australia and are interested in the directions that we are going in. They are keen to collaborate on future IVM projects, and we are looking forward to working with them in the coming years.

Gold Coast City Council IVM trials

2010-12-08T09:47:00.002+10:00

The objective of these trials was to investigate alternative strategies that might help to overcome some specific operational difficulties with relation to vegetation management activities in Gold Coast City Council. The effectiveness of these alternative strategies was compared to current practices in order to determine the potential benefits of the implementation of such Integrated Vegetation Management strategies into typical GCCC operations.

Vegetation management issues currently absorbing a disproportionate amount of the funds in GCCC include:

•objects that are difficult to mow around in parks and other public open spaces (e.g. trees, bollards, telegraph poles, fence lines, etc.),

•weeds growing on hardstand areas along roadsides (e.g. under armcos, in gaps in concrete and paved areas), and

•weeds growing in amenity gardens along roadsides and landscaped areas in parks.

Objects in parks are currently mown around using a hand mower, or sprayed around with Glyphosate. However, hand mowing has to be done often and spraying with Glyphosate encourages the growth of dicot weeds.

Weeds growing in hardstand areas and amenity gardens are currently controlled with Glyphosate. While this gives excellent short-term control, its effect is relatively short-lived and it needs to be repeated often.

In the first two experiments, plant growth regulators were evaluated for their potential to reduce the growth of vegetation surrounding furniture in open space environments (i.e. along fence lines and bollards). It was found that these plant growth regulators could significantly reduce grass growth and delay the requirement for hand mowing activities. The results also suggest that application of a selective herbicide in combination with the plant growth regulator would be advantageous in some circumstances.

In the final three experiments, pre-emergent herbicides were evaluated for their potential to provide longer-term control of weeds in hardstand areas (i.e. under armcos and in paved areas) and amenity gardens. When pre-emergent herbicides were applied in combination with Glyphosate they provided longer-term control of weeds, and the time period between interventions was likely to have been significantly increased.

These studies have demonstrated that IVM strategies have the potential to save money for GCCC vegetation managers and improve the quality of the managed areas. Some of these strategies will be further investigated in a series of pilot programs during the coming year, and if successful, they may be implemented into regular GCCC management activities in the future.

Powerlink IVM trials

2010-12-06T09:44:00.001+10:00

Experiments were undertaken in collaboration with Powerlink to determine the potential benefits of the implementation of an Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) program into Powerlink operations.

Following on from the IVMP project, where certain plant growth regulators were found to effectively suppress Bahia grass seed-heads for 11 weeks, a commercial demonstration was conducted within the boundaries of the Mudgeeraba Substation during autumn 2010. In this demonstration, one of the treatments provided a 70% reduction in grass seed-head production during the entire observation period (i.e. 15 weeks). The period of suppression was probably extended by the cooler weather towards the end of the trial and an associated slowing of grass growth and seed-head production at this time.

This demonstration confirmed the results of the IVMP project and showed that some benefit can also be gained during autumn, though the benefit is not as great as during the height of summer. It showed that an IVM program has the potential to reduce the cost of managing grassed areas in Powerlink facilities by reducing the mowing frequency. More importantly, an IVM program has the potential to reduce the number of interventions required in the management of the vegetation at Powerlink sites.

Other areas within Powerlink facilities are required to be kept maintained without any vegetation whatsoever. These "no vegetation zones" surround vital equipment and are usually covered with concrete or coarse gravel. They are currently sprayed with Glyphosate to control weed species in an effort to maintain them free from vegetation.

This practice provides excellent control of the weeds present, but does not provide substantial long-term control. For safety reasons, such facilities have to be shut down every time that these vegetation management activities are undertaken, thereby interfering with their normal function.

Hence, an experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of two pre-emergent herbicides for the longer-term control of weeds growing within areas of Powerlink infrastructure where no vegetation growth is an essential requirement. These herbicides were compared to the current standard practice of spraying with Glyphosate.

This experiment demonstrated quite clearly that the addition of pre-emergent herbicides to a regular Glyphosate application can provide much longer-term control. Seedlings were already quite abundant in the Glyphosate treated areas at 6 weeks after application. However, in the areas treated with Glyphosate and a pre-emergent herbicide, seedling growth was greatly inhibited (i.e. significant numbers of seedlings were not present until 15-25 weeks).

The results indicate that the use of pre-emergent herbicides in combination with Glyphosate will greatly increase the time period between interventions in "no vegetation zones". This may be of great benefit to Powerlink operations, as it will require facilities to be shut down less often for vegetation management activities to be undertaken.

The IVMP project comes to an end

2010-11-03T09:39:00.001+10:00

In many cases, managers of amenity turf and other mown vegetation in eastern Australia are struggling with cost of keeping it in the condition that is expected by authorities and the general public. This is often due to the invasion over time by undesirable species that decrease the quality of the turf and trigger more intensive mowing activities.

The Integrated Vegetation Management Program (IVMP) project was undertaken in order to develop situation-specific strategies to reduce ongoing maintenance costs for the management of mown vegetation on roadsides and in public open spaces in eastern Australia. It has been based on knowledge and field experience gained overseas, where similar IVM programs have been in use for many years and are now becoming commonplace.

These strategies involve the application of plant growth regulators (PGR's) and/or herbicides, in combination with mowing and weed wiping activities, in order to deliver the best results depending on the situation and composition of the vegetation.

Field efficacy trials focussed on the management of Bahia grass, the most troublesome species in mown vegetation in eastern Australia. These trials demonstrated that the strategic application of certain herbicides could selectively remove Bahia grass from a grass sward over a single growing season. Other treatments were found to be particularly effective at suppressing Bahia grass seed-head production, with a single application reducing seed-head production by 97% for at least 11 weeks at the height of the growing season.

The findings of this project prove that IVM strategies have the capacity to significantly reduce mowing activities, while improving the quality of managed areas. This may provide significant financial benefits, by reducing the cost of managing these areas, as well as providing environmental benefits (e.g. less carbon emissions and reduced weed seed spread).

As a result, pilot programs are currently being coordinated with Brisbane City Council and Gold Coast City Council for the 2010/2011 financial year. It is envisaged that these pilot programs will take what has been learned from the IVMP project and start to prove their value in real world situations. They will use the options that are already registered for use, and apply them to specific vegetation management situations using the IVM method. As these methods are proved in real situations, and more options become registered, it is hoped that these pilot programs will be expanded and become more widely adopted by these and other organisations.

Extended label registrations are already coming into effect for some of the products included in the IVMP trials. For example, Syngenta has registered a tank mix of two of their existing turf products, Primo Maxx and Monument Liquid herbicide, for suppression and seed-head control of Bahia grass. Bayer Environmental Science will also soon be extending the label registration for one of their products. Many of the products that performed very well in the IVMP experiments were also generic herbicides, and it is recommended that further effort be made to obtain extended the label registrations of these products.

One of the other major benefits of this project is that it has brought chemical companies, service providers and end-users closer together and significantly increased the speed of knowledge transfer between them. As a result, the chemical companies are more connected with the end-users of their products and are more aware of the issues that concern them. This may also result in the registration of more products for non-fine turf situations in the future.

The IVMP project has highlighted the usefulness of this type of approach to the turf industry and the potential for the IVM method to be applied to other environments to provide better and more sustainable management solutions. For example, a number of organisations have expressed an interest in exploring the application of IVM techniques in landscaped amenity areas and aquatic environments.

The final report for the IVMP project has been submitted to Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) and will be published in the near future. Any interested persons or organisations are also invited to contact the Project Manager, as per the details below, to discuss opportunities to be involved in future research.

Project Update: Year Three

2010-04-30T21:59:00.001+10:00

Building on the information gathered from phytotoxicity and field efficacy trials in the first two years of the project, research in the third year has focused on ways to manage the most troublesome species in mown vegetation in eastern Australia – Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum). This grass readily invades mown vegetation in sub-tropical and tropical regions, replacing more desirable turf grasses and often becoming totally dominant. During the growing season (i.e. from spring to autumn) it rapidly produces tall seed-heads after being mown, thereby triggering more frequent mowing activities than would otherwise be necessary.

Field efficacy trials have been conducted at two sites during the 2009/2010 growing season, one located on the Gold Coast and the other in Brisbane. Two separate trials have been run at both of these locations, one with the goal of suppressing the seed-head production of Bahia grass, and the other with the goal of transitioning Bahia grass out of the turf and allowing more desirable lower growing species (i.e. couch grasses) to take over the area. The integrated strategies being trialled involve the strategic use of selected plant growth regulators and/or herbicides in combination with much-reduced mowing regimes.

Results from the suppression experiment indicate that a single application of the right products, at the right rates, at the right time, can totally suppress the seed-head production of Bahia grass for up to 12 weeks during the peak of the growing season. Meanwhile, results from the transition experiment have shown that two or three strategic selective herbicide applications throughout the growing season are all that is required to transition a Bahia grass dominated site into one that is dominated by desirable couch grasses.

The most promising chemical products in these trials have the added benefit of controlling a broad spectrum of broadleaf weeds without having any significant phytotoxic effects on desirable grass species, thereby increasing the quality of the mown vegetation. They also have low toxicities, are relatively environmentally friendly, and require low levels of active ingredients to be applied.

The integrated strategies employed in these experiments have demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce the number of mowing cycles required in a growing season. Hence, their correct application in the right situations has the potential to provide a more economical and sustainable model for the management of mown vegetation.

IVMP Seed-head Suppression Trial

2010-02-22T05:34:00.000+10:00

Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum) poses a significant challenge for vegetation managers in South East Queensland due to prolific seed-head dispersion. In order to explore the best way to suppress seed-head production, the Integrated Vegetation Management Project (IVMP) is currently conducting a 12 week experiment.

In this experiment, a single application of various herbicides and plant growth regulators were applied to replicated trial plots. Untreated plots (control plots) and monthly mown treatment plots were also established for comparison. The experiment is intended to run for 12 weeks, with the interim results presented here showing what has occurred over the first 6 weeks.

Overall, most of the treatments are still performing very well 6 weeks after application. In fact, all 12 of the chemical treatments equalled or outperformed the mown treatment in reducing the number and height of seed-heads produced. This is surprising considering the chemical treatment plots had not been mown since the start of the experiment (approximately 6 weeks prior), while the mown treatment plots had been mown less than two weeks prior!

No seed-heads have yet been produced in the plots for the best performing treatments, i.e 100% seed-head reduction at this stage. In fact, most treatments trialled have provided ≥ 90% reduction in seed-heads after 6 weeks.

The effects of the treatments on seed-head height are very similar, as one might expect. Average seed-head height in the control plots was 43cm and was already up to 37cm in the recently mown plots. In comparison, the worst-performing experimental treatments had an average seed-head height of 29.5cm, while the few seed-heads produced in the most promising treatments had an average height of only 7cm.

Promising results are evident on trial plots

The effect of the treatments on sward height was also relatively similar. Average sward height in the control plots was approximately 11cm, while it was 8.5cm in the recently mown plots. The best performing treatments had sward heights of 6-7cm, with most other treatments having sward heights of 7-8cm.

These results are suggesting that if you want to keep the Bahia grass green and suppress its seed-head production, a number of treatments being assessed are proving effective. It is also clear that a number of the treatments will be effective should your aim be to transition out the Bahia grass in an area under management.

Y3 Field Efficacy Trials underway

2010-01-04T06:57:00.000+10:00

Year three of the IVMP project has commenced with field efficacy trials being conducted in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. With a long period of dry weather in Queensland in the three months leading into Christmas, commencement of the Y3 efficacy trials had been delayed until the weather was more favourable.

Three trial sites were set up, two in the Brisbane region and one on the Gold Coast. All trial sites have suitable species composition and are secure to ensure trial sites are not compromised.

The Gold Coast site was treated on Wednesday 30 December. The trials include Suppression, Duration of Suppression and Transition. Sites were unmown at application. Follow-up mowing will be undertaken.

The sites in Brisbane for Suppression and Transition trials were treated on Thursday 31 December 2009, immediately after mowing.

IVMP Newsletter Summer 2009

2009-12-11T15:31:00.002+10:00

This summer edition of the IVMP newsletter is now available.

This edition explores the successes of the recent visit by collaborating Research Scientist Travis Gannon, from North Carolina State University. Thanks to strong partnerships with researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU) and significant levels of funding allocated for research and development, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has implemented innovative roadside vegetation strategies that have not only saved millions of dollars but also significantly improved the safety levels for road users and those who maintain these road networks.

Australia can learn a lot from the efforts of NCDOT in the management of roadside vegetation. As the cost of maintaining road networks continues to increase, funding for roadside vegetation management is under increasing pressure.
A number of the innovative practices and vegetation management methodologies developed by NCDOT in conjunction with NCSU would be worthy of implementation in Australia.

The IVMP Project is currently exploring a number of these innovations, with the support of both North Carolina State University (NCSU) researchers and the NCDOT’ Roadside Environmental Unit.

The pdf version of the latest IVMP Newsletter is available here

IVMP Newsletter - Spring Edition 2009

2009-10-05T17:58:00.004+10:00

The Spring 2009 edition of the IVMP Newsletter is now available.

This edition takes a closer look at the IVMP Project's Lead Partner Technigro, highlighting their commitment to finding better ways to manage vegetation, along with some of the successes they have realised through implementing integrated vegetation management practices into their work practices.

A link to the project update for Year Two is also provided, keeping you up to date with the progress being made with this ground breaking project.

With the successes of the recent visit by collaborating Research Scientist Travis Gannon, from North Carolina State University and our Project Partner’s Forum, be sure to sign up to get our Summer Edition emailed straight to your inbox.

IVM Partnerships: NCDOT and NCSU

2009-09-14T12:35:00.002+10:00

The North Carolina Department of Transport have had considerable success using integrated vegetation management practices. North Carolina has the nation’s largest State Maintained Highway System consisting of 125,500 kilometres of highways. This equates to over 133,950 hectares of rights of way maintained in three general forms: turf, natural areas, and landscape plantings.

North Carolina Department of Transport (NCDOT) has developed a system for coordinating the management of roadside vegetation to maximize the effectiveness of both operations while increasing cycle times between mowing operations.

The Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) system is a decision-making and quality management process for maintaining roadside vegetation that integrates cultural, biological, mechanical, and chemical pest control methods to economically manage roadsides for safety plus environmental and visual quality.

In developing the IRVM system the following factors are also considered:

• needs of local communities and highway users
• knowledge of plant ecology processes
• design, construction, and maintenance considerations
• monitoring and evaluation procedures
• government statutes and regulations
• technology

IRVM is a spin-off of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) concept used in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. IPM is a term used to describe a system of managing pests whereby all possible methods of reducing pests are integrated to maintain and manage pest levels below economically damaging levels. IPM employs proven practical and least costly methods in a plan designed to exclude pests from the management unit.

IPM and, more specifically, IRVM are used to manage vegetation by simply applying logical information, communication, technology, planning and research.

An effective IRVM program improves safety for the public and employees, satisfies long range economic goals, maintains or improves quality, provides aesthetically pleasing facilities, and improves public relations. The highest priority for NCDOT employees is supplying safe transportation corridors that have the features of hazard free safety clear zones, low growing vegetation in the operational zone and open sight distances.

NCDOT’s Roadside Environmental Unit, works in cooperation with 14 divisions State-wide, covering three climate zones: coastal, piedmont and mountain, which include multiple cool and warm season grass species, as well as varying soil conditions. The professionalism, dedication and commitment of the team were clearly apparent as were the results of their hard work.

With strong partnerships with researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU) and significant levels of funding allocated for research and development, NCDOT has implemented innovative roadside vegetation strategies that have not only saved millions of dollars, they have also significantly improved the safety levels for road users and those who maintain these road networks.

NCDOT have taken a long term view with their roadside vegetation management strategies. They have been prepared to invest significant funding in the short term knowing that in the longer term the benefits will outweigh the initial investment.
Australia can learn a lot from the efforts of NCDOT in the management of roadside vegetation.

As the cost of maintaining road networks continues to increase, funding for roadside vegetation management is under increasing pressure. Innovative ways to reduce the triple bottom line cost of managing roadside vegetation is more essential than ever and funding dedicated towards this cause will pay handsomely in the future.

Vegetation Managers Forum with IVMP Project Partners

2009-08-30T09:28:00.002+10:00

The Integrated Vegetation Management Project (IVMP) conducted a Vegetation Managers Forum with Project Partners on the Gold Coast in August to present the results from year one and two of the project. The forum featured guest speakers from the project technical team and the project‘s lead partner Technigro.

The Integrated Vegetation Management Project (IVMP) is a collaborative research project being conducted in Australia from December 2007 until December 2010. This project aims to identify the most appropriate practices for vegetation management issues facing modern asset managers in Australia, with a focus on mown vegetation.

The IVMP is funded by industry and government partners including Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast City Council, Horticulture Australia and Technigro. The project is also supported by Bayer Environmental Science and Syngenta.

The IVMP Vegetation Managers Forum commenced with a presentation by Mr Nick Bloor, Technigro CEO. Nick introduced the purpose of the project and explained why as the lead partner, Technigro are deeply committed to the project. He described how Technigro have already commenced integrating some of the methods researched in IVMP into their vegetation work programs.

Dr Travis Gannon, a research scientist from the University of North Carolina and who is a part of the IVMP Technical Team, attended as a special guest to share his knowledge and experience on IVM in roadside management and how these practices have been successfully utilised in North Carolina in the United States. Travis has worked with Dr. Fred Yelverton since 1999 and he has coordinated projects in all facets of turf, including sports turf, amenity turf, golf courses and roadsides.

A major focus for Travis has been his work with North Carolina’s Department of Transportation (NCDOT) developing Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) programs for roadsides and other non-crop areas. This work has included strategies to convert existing roadsides to low maintenance species and application placement technologies for herbaceous vegetation management, utilising both herbicides and PGRs.

A number of the innovative practices and vegetation management methodologies developed by NCDOT in conjunction with NCSU would be worthy of implementation in Australia. The IVMP Project is currently exploring a number of these innovations, with the support of both North Carolina State University (NCSU) researchers and the NCDOT’ Roadside Environmental Unit.

IVMP Project Technical Team

2009-08-14T13:38:00.001+10:00

The IVMP Project Technical Team comprises representatives from the project partners, combined with suitably experienced and qualified persons from Industry, Government and Research Institutions. The members of the Technical Team have been selected based upon their knowledge and expertise in vegetation management.

In recent weeks Research Scientists Dr Sheldon Navie (UQ) and Travis Gannon (NCSU) have joined the Technical Team adding further diversity to the knowledge and experience of our Research Team.

To find out more about the Team researching better ways to manage mown vegetation visit the Technical Team Page on the IVMP website

IVMP Year Two Field Efficacy Trials

2009-08-03T19:17:00.000+10:00

Preparation for Year Two of the IVMP commenced in August 2008 through September 2008, with the Technical Team reviewing Year One trial data, finalising the protocols for the Y2 Phytotoxicity trials and developing protocols for the field efficacy trial work.

Members of the Technical Team also sought approval for the use of suitable trial sites for the field efficacy trial work in both Queensland and New South Wales throughout October and November 2008. Project Partners Brisbane City Council approved a site within the Tinchi Tamba Wetlands Reserve at Boondall, Gold Coast City Council approved a site within Albert Park, Broadbeach Waters and with support from Hornsby Council in Sydney a trial site within Fagan Park was established.

The continuation of screening trials to evaluate products considered to have potential in assisting in the management of the undesirable grass species was undertaken in Y2 by the Turf Research Scientists at the DPI Redlands Research Station.

Evaluations commenced in December 2008 assessing the phytotoxic effects of the IVMP products on twenty eight desirable turfgrass species during the summer season of 2008. The trials were placed over the same plots as the Y1 Phytotoxicity trials, ensuring two years of data over corresponding plots undertaken during two different seasons; Autumn Y1 and Summer Y2.

Field Efficacy Trials also commenced in December 2008, with Valencia Ecosystems engaged to complete the trial work at two sites, Tinchi Tamba in Brisbane and Fagan Park in Sydney. The focus of these field trials was to evaluate the efficacy of selected growth regulators and herbicides in managing problematic grass species in open space reserve situations, with particular emphasis as to their effects on growth regulation, seed head suppression and species composition conversion.

The Field Efficacy Trials ran for a period of three months with repeat applications of sixteen different treatments, as determined in the trial protocols, applied throughout the peak growing season. The results of the field efficacy trials were particularly encouraging, highlighting both seed head suppression and control options for the target weed species Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum) and other Paspalum species including a widespread problem in Australian amenity turf, Common Paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum).

Results from Y2 trial data suggest a number of IVMP treatments with potential in suppressing growth and seed head production. This would translate into significant broad ranging benefits to asset owners and those managing mown vegetation. As an example, in situations where areas are dominated by an undesirable such as Bahia grass, the trail data suggests that there would be a range of environmentally responsible, sustainable options available to significantly reduce mowing requirements during the peak growing season. Further to this, in situations where areas are dominated by desirable species, the trial data suggests that the IVMP has unearthed a number of tools that may be suitable for use in the removal of undesirable Paspalum species using either unscheduled or Schedule 5 herbicides with a far greater degree of human and environmental safety than the arsenate based products currently used.

To further explore these exciting developments, in June 2009, Dr Sheldon Navie from the University of Queensland joined the IVMP Technical Team in a Research Support role. Dr Navie¡¯s focus is to review the IVMP trial data, other IVM research data from similar projects and to communicate with the various project partners, collaborators and research agencies both in Australia and internationally.

Also in August 2009, the IVMP has arranged for Research Scientists from the North Carolina State University (NSCU) to visit Australia. This visit has been planned to coincide with a number of events in Australia, including:

1. the Vegetation Manager's Forum to update the IVMP Project Partners,

2. a review of Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) Programs implemented by Technigro to manage roadside vegetation and amenity turf in partnership with Gold Coast City Council and the Queensland DOT, and

3. the final planning meetings of the IVMP Technical Team to determine strategy for Year Three of the project.

IVM Practices on Department of Main Roads Contract

2009-07-28T16:16:00.000+10:00

In 2008, Technigro was awarded a Road Maintenance Performance Contract (RMPC) with the Department of Main Roads (DMR) to provide all vegetation management requirements for the network of roads on the western side of the M1 in the South Coast Hinterland District. Maintaining this particular road network involved a combination of vegetation management practices including clearing, mowing, herbicide application, declared weed management and other specialist activities such as the management of roadside trees and roadside litter collection.

A variety of major grass species populated the roadside environment which made managing the mown environment a particular challenge, given the propensity of many of the species present to quickly breach intervention heights and prematurely trigger a costly off-schedule mowing event. For this reason, a wide range of strategies have been implemented specifically to manage the taller growing species responsible for this problem.

Through implementation of this integrated approach to vegetation management, Technigro has been able to achieve significant efficiency and productivity gains that in turn have delivered many benefits to the customer, including improved quality, safety and environmental benefits, all of which have contributed to a 25% reduction in the net cost associated with the mown vegetation management.

The lessons learned from a season on this contract, along with innovations borne from our partnership on the IVMP Project, will now be made available to other customers to assist them in the coming growing seasons" advised Technigro CEO, Nick Bloor, during a recent presentation to Council Vegetation Managers . "Our ultimate aim is to lower the net cost of vegetation management and in the process, help our customers to stretch each maintenance dollar even further".

Field Efficacy Trials for Year Three of the IVMP Project were finalised during a visit from Dr Travis Gannon from North Carolina State University in August. Dr Gannon meet with the IVMP Technical Team and conducted several educational forums. For more information on these events or the proposed field efficacy trials you can contact us or sign up for the IVMP newsletter

Introducing Technigro - IVMP Lead Partner

2009-07-10T16:13:00.000+10:00

Technigro is the lead partner in this collaborative research project. A first for Australia, the IVMP was established with the fundamental aim of finding a better way to manage vegetation.

Mowing is costly, dangerous and resource intensive. With the knowledge that current practices are unsustainable, the clear goal for the IVMP team is to develop a sustainable model for managing mown vegetation in public open spaces, such as parks, reserves and roadsides.

Over 3 years the project will trial innovative strategies using plant growth regulators, herbicides and nutrition, in combination with mowing and other practices, to determine the most economical, environmentally friendly and sustainable approach.
Technigro is proud to partner with other industry leaders as we work to develop smarter solutions that are safer, more cost effective and better for our planet.

Technigro have already begun to utilise an integrated approach to vegetation management on their Road Maintenance Performance Contract with the Department of Main Roads. Read more about the success of this approach on this contract here.

For further information about Technigro, visit www.technigro.com.au.

Applying IVM strategies to mown vegetation management in Australia

2009-06-29T10:55:00.002+10:00

IVMP Project Update - June 2009

2009-06-22T11:58:00.003+10:00

Over the past two years the IVMP project has been working to identify best practices for mown vegetation management. The outcomes realised within IVMP will integrate vegetation management decision-making processes into mown vegetation management planning, design, construction, and maintenance. The expected benefits include a more economical and sustainable mown vegetation management model.

The project is trialling integrated strategies using selected plant growth regulators, herbicides and nutrition, in combination with mowing and other cultural practices, to determine the combination of practices that best suits the species composition present in each classification.

A second year of Phytotoxicity trials has been successfully completed at the Queensland DPI&F Redlands Research Facility during Summer 2009. Field Efficacy trials in both Brisbane and Sydney have also been completed with very promising results.

Project VC’s intend to fund aligned trials that will support the work being completed under TU07008. The new trial work will explore the integration of IVM strategies into current mowing activities.

The Project Technical Team are currently reviewing all trial data and will set out the strategy for year three when Dr Fred Yelverton visits Australia in August 2009.

Dr Sheldon Navie joins the IVMP Project - Tech Team

2009-06-04T16:34:00.000+10:00

I am pleased to advise that Dr Sheldon Navie has joined the IVMP Project in a Research Support role and as a member of the Tech Team.

Dr Navie brings a significant amount of scientific knowledge to the project team, particularly in the fields of plant ecology, weed biology, and grass taxonomy and identification.

Prior to his current appointment at Grow Solutions, Dr Navie has been based at the School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences at the St.Lucia campus of the The University of Queensland, where he completed his PhD on the biology of parthenium weed. He has since undertaken various roles at the University in collaboration with numerous internal and external organisations. This has included teaching plant and weed identification to undergraduate students, the supervision of higher degree students researching the biology and management of weed species, and the development of interactive teaching tools for undergraduate students and the wider community.

The most significant outputs of his work to date are a range of interactive weed identification CD's and DVD's using the Lucid software system. These products, including Environmental Weeds of Australia and Declared Plants of Australia, were developed in conjunction with the Centre for Biological Information Technology (CBIT) and other organisations (e.g. the CRC for Australian Weed Management). In recent years, Sheldon's expertise has also been utilised by Biosecurity Queensland, Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Herbarium on short-term projects involving the profiling and risk asessment of weed species.

Dr Fred Yelverton to visit Australia

2009-04-20T21:33:00.002+10:00

The IVMP Project is pleased to advise that Dr Fred Yelverton will be visiting us from August 18th through to 25th August, 2009.

Dr Yelverton is a noted turfgrass weed expert and lecturer from North Carolina State University in the United States. Dr Yelverton has been a principal researcher on a number of projects in the United States exploring seed head supression, new herbicides (such as the sulfonylureas), Vegetation Management Under Guardrails, Low Maintenance Turfgrass and Management Systems to name but a few.

Dr Yelverton has provided the IVMP project with an invaluable link with the US, where significant trial data information is available. This trial data is being reviewed and where potential has been identified for Australia, the trial work is being replicated as part of the IVMP project.

Dr Yelverton will visit both Queensland and NSW for meetings with Project Partners and the Project Technical Team. Dr Yelverton will also conduct Education Forums with industry groups in both States.

If you would like to find out more keep an eye on the website or contact us

Eco Turf Project

2009-03-28T07:35:00.002+10:00

Over 800 grasses from across Australia have been collected for DNA mapping as part of the Council of Mayors (SEQ)sponsored Eco Turf Project.

The project will identify the methodology to produce grasses that are more water and nutrient efficient, and also commercially viable.

With severe water restrictions in many local government areas within SEQ, it is important that the value of developing more drought tolerant and water efficient turf is recognised.

ARC-funded researchers at The University of Queensland are studying native and naturalised Australian couch grasses with the intention of developing new domestic, sports ground and amenity lawns.

In collaboration with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Jimboomba Turf and the South East Queensland Council of Mayors, the researchers plan to create new ecologically sustainable turf grasses that maintain quality with reduced water and nutrients.

The project could play an important part in the overall strategy to conserve water resources. The University of Queensland is currently in the second fiscal year of funding, with the project due for completion in 2011.

Contact: Associate Professor Ian Godwin, The University of Queensland

Management of native grass trials – a burning issue

2009-03-28T07:08:00.001+10:00

Rural Solutions SA has reintroduced native grasses along the South Eastern Freeway to enhance biodiversity, minimise management costs, reduce exotic grass fuel loads and improve overall aesthetics.

The business manages a number of native grass trial sites along the South Eastern Freeway at Bridgewater and Verdun.

The challenge at these sites is to maintain healthy stands of summer-active native grasses that will provide a green sward over the summer months without the need for watering.

To achieve these objectives, a controlled management burn was undertaken by Rural Solutions SA consultants on the South Eastern Freeway in Winter 2008.
Fire is one method used to promote the growth of Kangaroo Grass (Themeda australis) by replenishing soil nutrients and suppressing competition from introduced weed species.

The response of Kangaroo Grass and other exotic species following the burn will be closely monitored and this information will be used to guide the future management of this native grass species.

Kangaroo grass has sprouted vigorously following the 2008 burn and stands out as one of the few green grass patches along the freeway during the Summer months.
This observation may indicate an opportunity to use native grasses as fire breaks instead of the commonly used scorched earth approach.

Follow-up management such as slashing and spot-spraying of invasive grasses (e.g. Phalaris and Cocksfoot) will ensure that the kangaroo grass has a competitive advantage over the weeds during the summer growing season.

A range of other management techniques is also used by Rural Solutions SA at these grass trial sites. In particular, sculpture mowing is a novel approach used to suppress weeds and enhance native grasses (see video).

As well as its practical advantages, this technique gives the sites an attractive appearance of evenly-spaced parallel rows.
For further information contact Dr Stuart Collard.

Growth Regulation and Seed Suppression on Bahia Grass

2009-03-04T19:38:00.001+10:00

As a result of our collaboration with industry supporter Syngenta in Australia, commercial demonstrations are underway with Project Partners Brisbane City Council and Gold Coast City Council to evaluate new options for growth regulation and seed suppression on Bahia grass.

Borne from the IVMP concept, Syngenta will soon offer managers of mown vegetation a new option in the management of Bahia grass. The commercial demonstrations will evaluate the effectiveness of the new management tool, taking into consideration the cost of mowing the area under management versus the implementation of the growth regulation / seed suppression strategy.

A range of intervention levels and situations will be evaluated, with roadside vegetation maintained under MUTCD guidelines, included in the demonstrations.

Keep an eye on the IVMP website for detail on the results of this innovation from Syngenta.

The IVMP Project

2009-01-24T19:10:00.000+10:00

IVMP stands for Integrated Vegetation Management Project and is a 3-year research project to identify the most appropriate practices for vegetation management issues facing modern asset managers in Australia. The focus is mown vegetation.

Current vegetation management practices, while responsive to needs, are costly and unsustainable. Some of the key issues include:

Mowing is costly, dangerous, time consuming, needs to be repeated frequently, and often leads to weed dispersal problems. Public and operator safety is of primary concern.

Resources and budgets are limited with continually rising costs, eg fuel, labour and equipment.

Heightened public expectations regarding presentation of public open spaces adds further pressures to management issues.

Environmental impact needs to be minimised

IVMP is a collaborative research project.Join the discussion. Help us define the focus of our research. We invite you to share your vegetation management issues.

NCDOT's Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management Program

2008-12-29T15:15:00.001+10:00

The following BLOG details the different programs that make up the NCDOT's Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management(IRVM)Program......

An effective IRVM program requires the Vegetation Manager to be knowledgeable about turfgrass, ornamental plantings, brush control and noxious and invasive weeds. During the pest control evaluation phase, herbicides may be the only realistic and cost effective control method available.

The use of herbicides is not an automatic response to sighting a pest, but rather the result of a "step down" procedure of evaluating all methods of control to maintain public safety and aesthetics. When herbicides are the chosen method of control, general use materials are selected based on least environmental impact and general use materials. Herbicides are then applied in a safe manner according to label directions when the pest is in a controllable stage.

Decisions to utilise herbicides are made after cultural or biological control methods have been evaluated. Short term and long term pest impacts are also considered and the cost of application and economic benefits are evaluated in the decision making process. With proper planning, herbicides can be used to reduce the frequency of mowing cycles and ultimately reduce the annual maintenance cost for interstate and primary routes. The following sections describe how herbicides can be important and necessary tools in an IRVM Program.

Plant Growth Regulator (PGR) Program reduces one to two mowing cycles per year. The growth regulator program may be utilized to control the growth of cool season grasses such as fescue. A growth retardant typically interferes with cell division and thus prevents seedhead development. A plant growth regulator program can be an alternative to mechanical mowing, especially to reduce early season mowing cycles. Proper seasonal timing of application is critical for success.

The Warm Season Release (WSR) Program controls undesirable grass and weed species while releasing or maintaining warm season turfgrasses such as bahiagrass, bermudagrass and centipedegrass. Pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicide treatments may be utilized in late winter or early spring to prevent growth of weeds and reduce early season sight distance problems and mowing cycles.

A Seedhead Control Program for warm season turfgrasses may also be utilized. Like the PGR program, this seedhead control program may reduce one to two mowing cycles per year in turfgrass areas that are being managed as warm season species, especially for Pensacola Bahiagrass. Such a control program has been shown to be an acceptable alternative to mechanical mowing, especially to reduce mowing cycles during the early "green-up" stage of the warm season turfgrass-growing season. Proper seasonal timing of application is critical for success, however this type of seedhead control may be applied at various warm season turfgrass developmental stages.

The Broadleaf Weed Control Program consists of controlling weed species along the roadsides while they are small and actively growing. Broadleaf weeds can present a major sight distance problem if not addressed properly. The presence of broadleaf weeds in roadside turfgrass can be aesthetically undesirable, and may also prevent the desired turfgrass from becoming readily established. The Department may utilize pre-emergence or post-emergence herbicides which effectively control broadleaf weeds.

The Annual Grass Control Program may utilize herbicide treatments during the summer to control annual and perennial grasses such as crabgrass, dallasgrass, broomsedge, goosegrass, and others. Annual grass control is crucial in any vegetation management program because undesirable annual and perennial grasses compete for plant nutrients during the summer months, thinning stands of desirable turf. In many cases, especially in warm season grass areas, control of undesirable annual grasses may negate or delay the need for mechanical mowing because the desirable turfgrass may not be of sufficient height to warrant the cost of a mowing cycle.

Roadside Vegetation Management Innovators – NCDOT, Raleigh, NC.

2008-11-27T14:28:00.002+10:00

North Carolina has the USA’s largest State maintained highway system consisting of 78,000 miles (125,500km) of highways. This equates to over 331,000 acres (54,000ha) of rights of way maintained in three general forms: turf, natural areas, and landscape plantings.

The Project Representatives spent an extremely productive few days with the staff from North Carolina Department of Transport (NCDOT) Roadside Environmental Unit inspecting a range of field sites and some of their latest spray application equipment. Photos from the visit can be viewed on the IVMP website in the image gallery.

Everything is done a massive scale due to the size of the area that is under management, however there is a lot we can learn from their methodologies and equipment, scaled down to meet our needs in Australia.

A standout for this part of the trip would have to be the commitment NCDOT has put into better managing their roadside vegetation. NCDOT’s Roadside Environmental Unit, works in cooperation with 14 divisions statewide covering three climate zones that include multiple cool and warm season grass species, as well as varying soil conditions.

The professionalism, dedication and commitment of the team were apparent as were the results of their hard work. With strong partnerships with researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU) and significant levels of funding allocated for research and development, NCDOT has implemented innovative roadside vegetation strategies that have not only save millions of dollars, they have also significantly improved the safety levels for road users and those who maintain these road networks.

NCDOT have taken a long term view with their roadside vegetation management strategies. They are prepared to invest significant funding in the short term knowing that in the longer term the benefits will out way the initial investment.

A number of the innovative practices and vegetation management methodologies developed by NCDOT in conjunction with NCSU would be worthy of implementation in Australia. The IVMP project will now explore a number of these innovations, with the support of both NCSU researchers and the NCDOT’ Roadside Environmental Unit.

Australia can learn a lot from the efforts of NCDOT in the management of roadside vegetation. As the costs of maintaining road networks increases, funding for roadside vegetation management is under pressure. Innovative ways to reduce the triple bottom line cost of managing roadside vegetation is more essential than ever, and funding dedicated towards this cause will pay handsomely in the future.

We would like to know what innovative practises you are using to manage roadside vegetation? Was the last innovation in vegetation management for Australian roadside vegetation the weed wiper? What other innovations are out there?

With regard to funding research and development projects for mown vegetation is anyone investing in innovation now with an expectation of reaping the rewards through future savings?

We welcome your comments, questions and feedback.

Appropriate funding = high quality sports surfaces

2008-11-20T14:09:00.000+10:00

Situated in the heart of the ‘Triangle’ area of North Carolina between Raleigh and the Research Triangle Park, Cary is a relatively small town by US standards of 120,000 residents.

North Carolina has a relatively high rainfall average of 45 inches (1140mm) and high summer humidity similar to South East Queensland. Because of this they have many of the same problem species and challenges, for example the fast growing Bahia grass Paspalum notatum.

Project Representatives met with the Town of Cary’s Parks & Recreation staff and inspected some well maintained soccer and baseball facilities, including a new one where the US Olympic baseball team is currently training.

The USA Baseball National Training Complex is located in Western Cary and was selected to be the new home of USA Baseball in 2002.

The National Training Complex has four baseball fields, which consist of one Stadium Field and three Training Fields that are all fields are maintained at Major League Baseball standards.

WakeMed Soccer Park, a 150-acre multi-use complex operated by the Town of Cary. The park hosts professional matches, college and high school tournaments and other events. Fields are available for field sports such as soccer, youth football, lacrosse and ultimate Frisbee. The park also includes a world-class cross country course that encircles the park.

The level of professionalism, pride of workmanship, and access to the best technologies and funding have ensured that Cary’s Parks & Recreation staff have sporting fields of the highest standard.

It is clear that with the appropriate expertise and the right level of funding a high standard of sporting surface is achievable. However, our experiences have shown that funding to manage sporting surfaces has never been sufficient to ensure a high quality sporting surface in most situations.

We would be very interested to hear back from sports turf managers about whether they have the budgets they need to deliver high quality sporting surfaces. What sort of funding is required to provide a high quality sporting surface? Have safety concerns raised the profile of sports turf management and ensured additional funding is being available. We welcome your comments, questions and feedback.

Photos taken during our visit to the USA Baseball National Training Complex and WakeMed Soccer Park are available on the IVMP website image gallery

New uses for generic technologies and new technologies for niche markets

2008-11-15T15:38:00.001+10:00

The Project Representatives met with the supervisor of San Diego County’s integrated pest control program. California has an additional ‘County’ layer of government which fits between the city and state government municipalities.

They are the regional government that provides health and justice services to all 3 million residents of San Diego County and municipal services to the county's unincorporated areas. Their pest department undertakes an extensive roadside spraying program of county roads with a fleet of aging tankers using Raven spray equipment and Radiarc spray heads.

We learnt a great deal about products and application equipment but one of the standouts is the use in California of an aquatic Imazapyr product called Habitat.

Habitat herbicide has received full label approval from EPA, labelled for the control of undesirable emergent, shoreline and woody wetland aquatic vegetation in and around standing and flowing water.

Habitat herbicide controls vegetation by affecting enzymes found only in plants, not in humans, animals, birds, fish or insects. It is readily absorbed through leaves, stems and roots and is translocated rapidly throughout plants, with accumulation in the meristematic regions. Treated plants stop growing soon after spray application. Necrosis becomes evident about two weeks after treatment. Time to death of treated weeds depends on size, species treated and weather conditions at application.

Habitat is a systemic herbicide that delivers down-to-the-roots aquatic and riparian weed control, enabling users to cost-effectively reclaim and maintain waterways and wetlands that have lost value to emergent invasive species.

As many roadside environments adjoin wetlands, environmentally sensitive areas or are classified as drainage systems this product would be of tremendous benefit to industry and the Australian public if made available in this country. With this in mind the active ingredient Imazapyr is off patent and the IVMP Technical Team will consider this active for inclusion in future trial work.

We have previously raised the issue with regard to the lack of funding to support expanded uses of generic technologies or new technologies for niche markets that are not big enough to be of interest to the chemical companies.

In such situations there are opportunities to seek off label special use permits. This offers vegetation managers a broader range of choices when trying to manage weed populations but the process can be time consuming and difficult to get approved.

So our question would be who should be doing the work required to ensure vegetation managers get access to the right tools to manage an every increasing range of weeds? We welcome your comments, questions and feedback.

The image gallery on the project website has photos from the visit to San Diego County.

NCDOT's Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management

2008-11-09T14:58:00.000+10:00

NCDOT has developed a system for coordinating the management of roadside vegetation to maximize the effectiveness of both operations while increasing cycle times between mowing operations.

The Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM) is a decision-making and quality management process for maintaining roadside vegetation that integrates cultural, biological, mechanical, and chemical pest control methods to economically manage roadsides for safety plus environmental and visual quality.

In developing the IRVM system the following factors are also considered:

• needs of local communities and highway users
• knowledge of plant ecology processes
• design, construction, and maintenance considerations
• monitoring and evaluation procedures
• government statutes and regulations
• technology

Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM)is a spin-off of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) concept used in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a term used to describe a system of managing pests whereby all possible methods of reducing pests are combined (integrated) to maintain (manage) pest levels below economically damaging levels. IPM employs proven practical and least costly methods in a plan designed to exclude pests from the management unit.

IVRM is used to manage vegetation by simply applying logical information, communication, technology, planning and research.

An effective IRVM program improves safety for the public and employees, satisfies long-range economic goals, maintains or improves quality, provides aesthetically pleasing facilities, and improves public relations. The highest priority for NCDOT employees is supplying safe transportation corridors with hazard- free safety clear zones, low growing vegetation in the operational zone and open sight distances.

Those involved with the Integrated Vegetation Management Project (IVMP) in Australia are looking to develop a model spcifically suited to Australia's conditions. We welcome your thoughts on the subject and invite you to visit the IVMP website for further information.

Managing the costs of maintaining sports turf

2008-11-09T13:01:00.001+10:00

Project Representatives met with the superintendent of the City of Coronado Golf Course, right under the famous Coronado Bridge and directly opposite the Navy Seal training facility.

Coronado’s fairways are a mix of kikuyu and green couch and once again we were able to get a first hand view of how they manage their facility with limited rainfall.

The Superintendent uses plant growth regulators (PGRs) on the course to keep the Kikuyu under control and reduce maintenance costs. He had a number of new herbicide technologies available to manage weeds and used pre-emergents to manage the most difficult areas of weeds.

For the Superintendent, the biggest challenge is the mounting cost of the potable water used to irrigate the course. Coronado doesn’t have access to recycled water so they irrigate with potable drinking water... to the tune of $400,000 US last year.

The use of water for amenity horticulture purposes is an issue we have been grappling with for many years. What strategies have you implemented to reduce water usage in these areas? Are you moving towards recycled water for these areas and do you have strategies in place to counter the effects that water will have on the soil profile and plants you are irrigating?

Are you using PGR’s as part of a broader strategy to reduce water usage? What are you using …and how effect has it been? I welcome your comments, questions and feedback. Images from the visit to Coronado Golf Course can be viewed in the image gallery on our project website.

Introduced roadside vegetation a problem in California

2008-11-04T14:48:00.002+10:00

The City of Poway has a population of approximately 51,000 residents and is located in northeast San Diego County. Poway is known as “The City in the Country” and prides itself on the fact that over half of the City’s area is preserved as dedicated open space.

Poway has a population of approximately 50,000 and is located in northeast San Diego County. Poway is known as “The City in the Country” and prides itself on the fact that over half of the City’s 39.4 square-mile (100km2) area is preserved as dedicated open space.

San Diego is very dry, only receiving 4.5 inches (120mm) of rainfall last year, so we learnt a lot about how they manage their public open space vegetation with limited rainfall. A large percentage of their state controlled roadsides are planted with a monoculture of ‘Ice Plant’ Carpobrotus edulis.

In the early 1900s C. edulis was brought to California from South Africa to stabilise soil along railroad tracks and was later put to use on road networks for similar purposes. Thousands of acres were planted in California until the 1970s. It easily spreads by seed (hundreds per fruit) and from segmentation (any shoot segment can produce roots). Its succulent foliage, bright magenta or yellow flowers, and resistance to some harsh coastal climatic conditions (salt) have also made it a favoured garden plant. The Ice Plant was for several decades widely promoted as an ornamental plant, and it is still available at some nurseries. Ice Plant foliage can turn a vibrant red to yellow in colour.

The Ice Plant is still abundant along highways, beaches, on military bases, and in other public and private landscapes. It spreads beyond landscape plantings and has invaded foredune, dune scrub, coastal bluff scrub, coastal prairie, and most recently maritime chaparral communities. In California, the Ice Plant is found in coastal habitats from north of Eureka, California, south at least as far as Rosarito in Baja California.

The Ice Plant poses a serious ecological problem, forming vast mono specific zones, lowering biodiversity, and competing directly with several threatened or endangered plant species for nutrients, water, light, and space. This species introduction, brought in to assist in erosion control and to reduce maintenance sends a warning to roadside vegetation managers that care must be taken when species to ensure they are beneficial to the environment they are used in and not an ecological disaster.

We would like to know what weed species you are battling with in your built environment. Do you to have introduced species that you are finding difficult to manage? What can we do in the future to ensure we do not make the same mistakes in the future?

We welcome your comments, questions and feedback. Visit our website to view photos of the harsh roadside environment and the use of Ice Plant in roadside situations.

Roadside Vegetation Management in California

2008-10-29T14:30:00.001+10:00

The State of California’s Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is California’s equivalent to the Department of Main Roads in Queensland or the Roads and Traffic Authority in NSW.

The Project Representatives met with five of the Caltrans team and they were very open in sharing their challenges as well as their successes. It was a terrific opportunity and we learnt a heap from the day, as well as made some great contacts who have offered to collaborate with us.

The purpose of the visit was for Project Representatives to review the on-ground success of the Caltrans Roadside Management Toolbox, a web based decision making tool developed to improve the safety and maintainability of transportation infrastructure.

The Roadside Management Toolbox provides design techniques and treatments that improve traveller and worker safety, protect the highway infrastructure and improve transportation system reliability by reducing the need for recurrent vegetation maintenance activities.

The California Department of Transportation manages approximately 15,000 miles of highway and 230,000 acres of right-of-way throughout California. The management, maintenance and control of vegetation on the roadsides have become increasingly difficult as the miles of roadway and acres of roadside have increased while maintenance resources have been reduced.

Historic methods of vegetation control (manual, mechanical and chemical) have been sharply curtailed due to local development, increased traffic volumes, public concerns and other economic and environmental issues.

Following a 1992 Environmental Impact Report on Caltrans vegetation control practices, the Department adopted a formal Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) program for its roadsides. A major component of this program is permanent vegetation control techniques that reduce the need for ongoing vegetation management.

Since the adoption of IVM, District and Headquarters functional areas have completed research and field trials of a wide variety of permanent vegetation control approaches. The toolbox includes treatments composed of materials familiar to traditional highway construction contractors (such as asphalt and concrete, concrete and road base) as well as less conventional materials or products (such as polyurea coatings, rubber mats, and fibre weed control mats).

Caltrans have undergone massive cuts to their road maintenance budget which has resulted in numerous challenges in managing the roadside environment. The end result is a lot of bare ground ‘moonscapes’ contrasting some high maintenance interchange landscape areas that are maintained with a constant supply of unsustainable potable water.

However, their commitment to innovation with regard to permanent vegetation management approaches, the use of high tech systems to manage water usage in their landscaped areas, and a commitment to using more environmentally friendly herbicides with low active ingredient content is to be applauded.

For Australia, the big taken home message was Caltrans commitment to fund research into better ways of managing roadside vegetation and the hard work being done to ensure that vegetation management considerations are an integral part of the planning and design phases of road and roadside construction.

We would be keen to hear what permanent vegetation control techniques you have put into place. What has worked and hasn’t worked? What are the difficulties of implementing such techniques…is it the upfront cost, are we just not considering these techniques at the design phase? We welcome your comments, questions and feedback.

You will find a selection of images from the Caltrans visit on the IVMP website in the image gallery

University of California - Weeds Day 2008

2008-10-24T13:31:00.000+10:00

UC Davis has a prominent & well established weed research team within their plant sciences department who put together the annual Weed Day on campus.

The Department of Plant Sciences has been created by consolidating the four commodity-based departments of Agronomy and Range Science, Pomology, Vegetable Crops and Environmental Horticulture. This pooling of manpower and resources has fostered better focus on the teaching, research and outreach missions of one of the leading academic programs in agricultural and environmental sciences in the United States.

Under the umbrella of Plant Sciences, over 90 faculty members now collaborate on education and research in the emerging programmatic areas of plant and environmental sciences. Fundamental advances in genomics, genetics, plant physiology, evolutionary biology and environmental science are being translated into improvements in crop performance and production, post harvest quality, agricultural sustainability and ecosystem management.

IVMP Project Representatives attended campus for the Annual Weeds Day. There were one hundred and fifty attendees from all over the US, from researchers & government personnel, to practitioners and contractors.

This event was very much like one of our Weed Society forums in Australia. Attendees spent the morning looking at field sites trialling a range of herbicides, both organic and non-organic, from non-crop to in-crop and aquatic areas. A few photos from the day can be viewed in the IVMP image gallery.

The afternoon program consisted of twelve fifteen minute sessions where Researchers presented updates on the weed management projects currently being completed by the University.

Of particular interest was the presentation by Dr Joe Di Tomaso who introduced an online interactive weed identification database that had been developed at UC Davis. This database allowed users to work logically through a series of weed identification options that assisted the user towards accurately identifying the weed species they were researching.

Australia is yet to have a weed identification tool such as this developed and consideration should be given to developing a similar model for Australian weeds with added features such as control options for each weed species.

Project Representatives gathered research information including trial protocols, data and progress reports, along with meeting numerous contacts with industry personnel keen to collaborate with the IVMP Technical Team in the future.

As in Australia, the issue of attracting appropriate levels of funding for research into new uses for older technologies is a problem faced in the United States. There is resistance from chemical companies to reinvest in generic technologies or new technologies where cost outweighs the benefit are not favourable short term.

However, looking at our experience in the USA, if a long term view is taken, the benefit over time can reward those who invest in exploring new opportunities for the older technologies with an integrated vegetation management program.

We are keen to hear from anyone who may be working with or has worked with generic technologies to explore new registration opportunities for common weed problems in your region. We know of a number of promising opportunities that were passed up because the numbers did not stack up…..do you know of similar situations? We welcome your comments and feedback.

Integrated Vegetation Management in the United States

2008-10-20T13:18:00.001+10:00

In July 2008, a research trip to the USA was completed by project representatives. The purpose of the visit the US was primarily to look at mown vegetation management in the US, specifically integrated vegetation management strategies from appropriate species selection, through to the use of PGRs and herbicides with growth regulatory effects.

The project representatives met with a broad spectrum of people involved in vegetation management in the US so as to better understand the successes and challenges faced by researchers, asset owners, asset managers, Vegetation Management service providers and product suppliers.

Over the next few postings I will give you an overview of this research trip and what was uncovered in the US. Further information on integrated vegetation management strategies in the USA can be found at our website www.ivmp.com.au.

IVMP blog content guidelines

2008-10-15T12:50:00.000+10:00

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Introducing IVMP

2008-10-14T12:33:00.001+10:00

IVMP stands for Integrated Vegetation Management Project and is a 3-year research project to identify the most appropriate practices for the vegetation management issues facing modern asset managers in Australia. The focus is mown vegetation.

Current vegetation management practices, while responsive to needs, are costly and unsustainable. Some of the key issues include

Mowing is costly, dangerous, time consuming, needs to be repeated frequently, and often leads to weed dispersal problems. Public and operator safety is of primary concern.

Resources and budgets are limited with continually rising costs, eg fuel, labour and equipment.

Heightened public expectations regarding presentation of public open spaces adds further pressures to management issues.

Environmental impact needs to be minimised

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