2018/19 — The summer of fruit flies
Not long after a few BMSB post-border detections were dealt with, another familiar biosecurity threat has raised its head.
This discovery is the furthest south that the prickly pest has been found. All of the other sites in Canterbury have been many kilometres to the north in the Hurunui district.
Environment Canterbury principal biosecurity advisor, Laurence Smith, says the farmer identified Chilean needle grass after reading an article urging people to keep an eye out for the seeding plants.
It also the first new discovery of Chilean needle grass in Canterbury for two years.
"Chilean needle grass seed can lie dormant in the ground for about 10 years so the lag stage between seed movement and establishment requires constant vigilance," says Smith. "Chilean needle grass can reduce stock carrying capacity, income and potentially, property values."
The seed-heads stand out as reddish purple-flecked and glossy in the summer but is indistinguishable from other grass, making it particularly hard to identify.
Seeds attach themselves to people, vehicles and animals and can also be spread in feed and soil. Their sharp tip and twisting awn may drill through animals' pelts and lambs' eyes, causing suffering and potential downgrading of carcasses.
