Weed hygiene practices in rural industries and public land management: Variable knowledge, patchy implementation, inconsistent coordination

Abstract

Weed management science and practice largely focuses on eradicating, containing and reducing existing weed populations; the focus is on plants in situ. More recently, the redefinition of biosecurity to include weeds has seen greater attention paid to preventing the introduction of weeds to previously uninfested areas within countries. Thus weed hygiene has come to the fore, with a growing number of publications recommending a diverse range of practices to minimise the spread of weeds across farm, regional and state boundaries. Yet little is known about the uptake of weed hygiene practices. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which best practice weed hygiene is being implemented on, across and along private and public lands. Telephone interviews were conducted with 54 private and public land managers, weed contractors, and agricultural transport operators in New South Wales, Australia. Vehicle hygiene was commonly undertaken across all stakeholder groups when it was consistent with other goals, requirements or norms. Other practices, such as sequencing harvesting from least to most weedy paddocks or including weed hygiene clauses in contracts were often known, but rarely practiced because of the onerous labour and financial costs or concerns about social etiquette. Individual commitment to weed hygiene efforts were also undermined by intra and inter-organisational coordination challenges. Public debate and assessment are needed on the benefits and costs to society of weed hygiene compared to in situ weed control to determine where best to invest limited time and resources.

Pathways towards the Sustainable Management of Woody Invasive Species: Understanding What Drives Land Users’ Decisions to Adopt and Use Land Management Practices

“…Even so, this depends on land users' motivation and ability to access resources for SLM implementation [17]. Thus, the key drivers of continuous SLM implementation are timely access to appropriate information on the need to manage invasion as well as the provision of incentives, financial resources, and favorable market dynamics [28,29].…”

“…According to [17], successful management strategies involve a combination of practices. However, the land users' rationale for applying multiple alternatives in managing invasion is determined by their knowledge and experience with such diverse practices [28]. This is because land users tend to adopt practices whose success rates they are well-acquainted with.…”

Imperatives for integrated weed management in vegetable production: Evaluating research and adoption

“…Farm hygiene practices are also an important component of effective IWM, in addition to limiting the spread of other pests and crop diseases onto and within vegetable farms. Aspects of farm hygiene that can help limit weed spread include vehicle washdown, controlling weeds in adjacent areas and restricting machinery and people movement (Gill et al, 2018; Henderson & Bishop, 2000; Zoschke & Quadranti, 2002). Effective farm hygiene can be difficult to sustain or implement during prolonged wet weather, in flood‐prone areas and in districts characterized by busy year‐round production, and may be considered by growers to be redundant when a full spectrum of weeds are already present (Coleman et al, 2015; Kristiansen et al, 2015).…”

Considering weed management as a social dilemma bridges individual and collective interests

“…Weed scientists have developed numerous Best Management Practice (BMP) guidelines to support proactive, integrated strategies. Such BMPs focus on preventing the introduction and spread of weed seeds, improving chemical and biological control, and reducing the risk of resistance evolution to control options, most notably to herbicides [5][6][7] . Despite these BMPs and the rigorous efforts by researchers and extension personnel who promote them to land managers, weed species continue to spread 8 , and management costs continue to mount as herbicide resistance evolves 9 .…”