Blackberry control manual - Weeds Australia

Case study
Manual removal of blackberry on a
Melaleuca floodplain
The problem
Blackberry thickets (R. laudatus) covering
20,000 m 2 and reaching up to five metres into
the tree canopy confronted the Bannister Creek
Catchment Group (BCCG), City of Canning
volunteers and contractors in 1997. The
infestation dominated the understorey of the
Melaleuca rhaphiophylla and Eucalyptus rudis
floodplain of Bannister Creek, which runs through
the southern Perth suburbs of Lynwood and
Ferndale in Western Australia.
Manual removal of blackberry was chosen at Site A
because the site was close to water. Thick blackberry
grew to the edge of the watercourse.
Site A after the blackberry had been removed.
Julie Robert (Bannister Creek Catchment Group)
Julie Robert (Bannister Creek Catchment Group)
The team of three volunteers and two paid
workers were reluctant to use broad-scale
herbicide spraying, because:
• the poisoned plants would leave large areas of
flammable dry material in an area that could
legally be burnt
• it was likely that remaining understorey species
would also be killed by the herbicide
• high-level herbicide use is not acceptable
practice on floodplains.
Method developed
The group developed a technique for the manual
removal of blackberries:
• Use of protective clothing. It was important for
workers to adequately protect themselves. This
included gloves with double leather‐stitched
palms (commercial fencing quality), long‐sleeved
shirts, long trousers of good quality fabric, and
hat and safety glasses.
• Sensible pacing. The work was physically quite
strenuous. The team found that a six hour
working session was a good rate. In this time,
they could clear blackberry canes from about
20 – 30 m 2 .
• Break and pull. Work sessions started by
breaking canes with metal rakes to open a hole
in the thicket. This allowed a visual field into the
undergrowth. Team members then pulled free
one cane at a time, breaking or cutting the cane
from the main root base and freeing it from the
entangled mass. The person pulling the cane
stepped backwards, using their body weight to
pull the cane free while folding and winding it.
This technique minimised the danger of the cane
scratching the handler and made it easier to
dispose of the long stem when it was free.
• Removal of root base. After pulling or cutting all
canes from the main root, team members dug
up the root if possible. Roots that could not be
removed, such as those wedged under tree roots
and logs, were tagged with coloured tape for
later monitoring and treatment with herbicide
when sufficient regrowth enabled good herbicide
uptake. Sometimes it took several herbicide
applications to kill the root. Initially the team
also tried to pull out ground roots and runners,
but they found this difficult to do and not very
fruitful, as any root segment left in the ground
sprouted a new plant.
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