Chilean Needle Grass A Recent Weed Incursion Into North...

Chilean needle grass is a recent weed incursion into North Canterbury. Describe its life cycle and ecology and discuss ways to reduce its invasion into pastures Summary This search was undertaken to find published scientific literature on both the ecology and lifecycle of Chilean Needle Grass, the main results of this search are discussed in this literature review for PLSC 321. Some of the key results from this review are; Chilean Needle Grass occurs throughout New Zealand in small patches of infestation. The majority or â€Å"70%†of occurrences are in â€Å"improved pasture†. In New Zealand the potential spread of Chilean Needle Grass is massive with up to 15 million hectares falling under an optimally suitable climate, although currently less than 1% of this in infested. In Canterbury alone there is over 1.2 million hectares of productive land at risk of invasion by this grass. Chilean Needle Grass has the potential to be harmful to New Zealand’s pastoral farming systems, owing to its sharp barbed seeds which have the potential to penetrate an animal’s hide, resulting in fleece and carcase damage. The seeds of this invasive weed are not suited for dispersion by wind, but because of their barbed seeds, can be spread by attaching to the wool and hair of farm animals. So that the seeds only germinate in favourable conditions they rely on a â€Å"pasture gap detecting mechanism† and only germinate when they are exposed to enough light. Chilean Needle Grass seeds can also cause some major