Both exotic and native species of woody plants, as a result of their increase in distribution and stand density, have caused land degradation and reduced pasture and rangeland productivity. In the case of native species, problems have arisen through the natural spread of species due to change in the ecological balance such as over -grazing or reduced fire intensity and incidence, or regrowth from species which have been cleared by mechanical means. A series of experiments conducted in western New South Wales and Queensland have demonstrated the efficacy of a pelleted formulation of hexazinone, the Crop King Gridball, to control a number of problem native and exotic species. It is envisaged that this product will be valuable in an integrated management system which will involve the use of controlled grazing, fire and mechanical disturbance as well as the judicious use of herbicides to reduce the problem of woody weed encroachment. This paper gives an indication of the problem, and a summary of the results of three experiments in western New South Wales.
Full-text publications from the Australian Rangelands Society (ARS) Biennial Conference Proceedings (1997-), Rangeland Journal (ARS/CSIRO; 1976-), plus videos and other resources about the rangelands of Australia.