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Friday, 29 October 2004

Salvation Jane

Some plants are beautiful but unwanted. Watch today's story to find out about a plant that some like and others want to get rid of.

GRAHAM BADGER: From a distance Salvation Jane might look beautiful but in reality it's Australia's most prolific pasture weed.

It chokes out crops and is poisonous to most grazing animals.

Also called 'Patterson's Curse', the weed infects around 33 million hectares of prime farming land and costs the agricultural industry an estimated $250 million a year.

CAROL VINCENT: Pesticides are a last resort and they're also very expensive.

They cost the farmer a lot obviously in dollars, but also in time.

But if we can bring in something natural that will just walk in and get rid of that Patterson's Curse, farmers will be very pleased.

GRAHAM BADGER: And this could be the answer to farmers' prayers.

The tiny flea beetle can hardly be seen with the naked eye but it has a big appetite for Salvation Jane.

The release of the flea beetle is one of four biological methods scientists are using to try and control Salvation Jane.

The crown-boring weevil has already been released and another two are on the way.

It's hoped they'll eventually allow farmers to stop using herbicides, saving money and the environment.

PHIL CRAMOND: I think we are making a dent in Salvation Jane.

However it's going to be a very, very, very long term before we can say we don't have to use herbicides.

GRAHAM BADGER: While Salvation Jane might be a weed to some -- it's an important source for pollen for the State's beekeepers.

And they're keeping an anxious watch on bio-control developments.

However scientists say they have nothing to fear because it's not a total eradication program.

KEN HENRY: I don't think you're ever going to wipe out all the Jane in South Australia and it's just, you just couldn't.

It'd be impossible to do that.

There's always going to be plenty of Jane around for the beekeepers still too and that's still a big industry, yeah.

story notes

in reality
in fact

prolific
producing large numbers of offspring

pasture
area of land where animals graze

weed
A weed is any unwanted plant.

A weed can also be called a pest.
The weeds in my garden are a pest.

Weed can also be used as a verb.
He will weed that garden bed later today.

chokes out
doesn't allow to grow; out grows
Weeds choke out vegetables if you don't pull them out.

prime farming land
very good farming land

pesticides
chemicals that kill pests

Words that end with -icide are the subject of today's spotlight.

last resort
final choice; last option
Putting people in jail is the last resort.

answer to farmers' prayers
exactly what the farmers want

with the naked eye
without using a microscope
Bacteria can't be seen with the naked eye.

appetite for
desire to eat
I have a big appetite for chocolate.

biological methods
Releasing one type of insect, plant or disease to control another is a biological method.
The biological method used to control rabbits in Australia is disease.

It's also called bio-control.

on the way
going to be released soon

herbicides
chemicals that kill plants

Words that end with -icide are the subject of today's spotlight.

making a dent
To make a dent in something is to reduce the amount.
This tax bill will make a dent in my savings.

beekeepers
people who farm bees to produce honey

Beekeepers are also called apiarists.

keeping an anxious watch
watching carefully and hoping it doesn't go wrong

total eradication program
a program to completely get rid of or eliminate something

wipe out
to eradicate; to completely get rid of
It didn't take long to wipe out the dodo.

spotlight

The -icide on the end of a word means that the word has something to do with killing.

view the spotlight >