Burnett Catchment Care Association (BCCA) received a National Landcare Program – Smart Farms Small Grant to establish biocontrol breeding facilities in Monto. The facility will be used to produce biocontrol agents for Cats Claw Creeper (CCC) and Parthenium.
Biocontrol agents are an organism, in our case – bugs (Jewel Beetle) and rust (Summer Rust), which are used to control the pest species, in this case CCC and Parthenium respectively. The aim of the biocontrol agent is to reduce the health of the weeds by feeding on the stem, leaves or even flowers of the weeds reducing their vigour and ability to spread. The biocontrol agents are very host specific, meaning they will only feed on the Parthenium/CCC and will leave other plant species alone.
If you are a landholder with areas infested with CCC and/or Parthenium and are located in the Inland Burnett (North Burnett and South Burnett Regional Council area) and would like to be involved in releasing biocontrol agents on your property, please fill in this short survey by Friday 17 December 2021. Biocontrol agents will be ready for release in mid-January 2022. If you would prefer to download a pdf copy of the survey please click here!! BCCA field officers will be in contact after you register your interest with additional information.
This project is supported by BCCA, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.