Gazania

In reply to the Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) ().6 July 2023).

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): I am advised:

From 2014-2016, the South Australian government Department of Primary Industries and Regions supported a trial by the Riverland Wine Viticulture Technical Group, with funding from Wine Australia, trialling different chemical mixes to control gazania.

As well as herbicide mix, the trial considered the most effective time of year and growth phases for controlling gazania.

The trial was focused on identifying the most effective control treatments for gazanias under Riverland conditions, particularly in vineyards.

Recommendations from this study can still be applied today and by growers more broadly. They are available in a factsheet on the Wine Australia website.

If growers are concerned about gazania and wish to seek advice on control methods, the best course of action is to contact their local landscape board, who can advise them on the most up-to-date and suitable control methods for their region and land use type.

Gazania is a common garden escapee throughout South Australia. Wild populations are widespread in coastal and mallee areas near former plantings, from the west coast to the lower Limestone Coast and inland.

Gazania can occupy bare ground under perennial horticulture, and summer fallows in no-till agricultural systems, where it can impede sowing in autumn. The economic impact of gazania in these systems has yet to be quantified.

Gazania have been assessed for their weed risk and feasibility of containment and subsequently declared under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019.

Landscape boards have their own regional management plans for gazania. They determine the level of response according to presence, type of habitats impacted, and through a collaborative approach with their communities.