Blackberry control manual - Weeds Australia

Case study (continued)
Manual removal of blackberry on a
Melaleuca floodplain
• Waste removal. Team members either stuffed
folded canes into weed bags or placed them
onto weed mats. At the end of each work
session, they carried these bags or mats to a
nearby firebreak or path for removal by the
land manager. After an area had been cleared,
workers raked the site and removed any dead
canes (dead canes did not break down easily in
the shaded and damp conditions and could be a
hazard underfoot).
The bushcare team found that regrowth after the
initial treatment did not have large root bases.
The majority of regrowth was from horizontal
ground runners that grew multiple upright
stems, making it possible to see them among
weed growth and identify where treated plants
had been. To treat the regrowth the team cut the
stems 500 millimetres from the ground and then
treated the cut with a mixture of glyphosate and
metsulfuron-methyl at the recommended rate. The
group used this herbicide technique only during
dry conditions, and only a few treated plants
required a second herbicide application.
The folded blackberry canes were placed on weed
mats and dragged out of the site for disposal.
• Follow-up. The team followed up meticulously
for five years, wiping or spraying blackberry
regrowth with undiluted glyphosate as well
as removing other weeds that invaded newly
cleared areas.
• Natural regeneration. The team undertook
no plantings for three years. Instead, they
actively controlled weeds to encourage natural
regeneration.
Julie Robert (Bannister Creek Catchment Group)
The blackberry infestation at Site B before work began.
Julie Robert (Bannister Creek Catchment Group) Julie Robert (Bannister Creek Catchment Group)
Site B after a substantial amount of the blackberry had
been removed.
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