Kempsey Shire Council, with funding from North Coast Local Land Services (NCLLS), are running a Tropical Soda Apple (TSA) 'seek and destroy' mission along the Macleay River from Blackbird Flat to Temagog.
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The NCLLS investment of $100,000 has funded several control passes by specialist weed contractors to help Council manage this highly invasive weed in difficult to access areas along the river.
This approach is part of a multi-agency program for the control of TSA in the Macleay Catchment. Council and NCLLS are also working with the New England Weeds Authority, Northern Tablelands Local Land Services and the Department of Primary Industries to combat this weed.
The New England Weeds Authority and Northern Tablelands Local Land Services are targeting TSA in the upper catchment to prevent re-infestation further downstream in the Kempsey Local Government Area. The Department of Primary Industries are supporting the 'seek and destroy mission' through a three-year TSA landholder engagement project.
Through this project, council have employed two project officers to undertake landholder engagement, conduct property inspections for TSA and educate landholders on how to control it.
Where landholders are not actively controlling TSA, the project officers are using compliance techniques to ensure this highly invasive weed is not allowed to spread. TSA has a Biosecurity Control Order 2017 placed on it, making it one of the highest priority weeds in NSW.
The Control Order requires all property owners and occupiers to: Notify their local Council upon becoming aware of any new infestations of TSA on their land; Destroy all TSA plants (including fruit); Ensure they don't spread this weed through the movement of stock; Keep stock in a holding paddock free from TSA for 7 days to allow all of the seeds to pass through them (in the event they eat TSA).
For more information visit: https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/TropicalSodaApple
