The Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group (PHBG) held their popular Weed ID and Advice Workshops in Harvey earlier this year.

Over 50 landholders registered for the events held across two days with the high registration numbers indicating a large amount of interest in weed control across the Harvey area. Attendees brought in weed samples from the surrounding area for experts Greg Keighery and Andrew Mitchell to discuss.

‘Our weed experts bring decades of field experience in both bushland and pasture weed control. Landholders find it helpful to be able to bring in physical specimens for the experts to identify and discuss, says Teele Hooper-Worrell, weed education officer at the Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group.

‘Very often our attendees recognise the samples bought in by others and each workshop becomes an interactive discussion about the local weed issues and how to control weeds and prevent their spread.’

Samples were predominantly summer weeds due to the timing of the events and included wireweed, melon, thistle varieties and dock. There was a marked difference in the types of weeds that were present compared to previous PHBG weed workshops, held later in the year and featuring winter weeds.

Identification of weeds is the first step to effective control. It allows landholders to understand how the weed may have spread to their property and to find the most effective control methods moving forward. All attendees to the weed workshop took home the Southern Weeds and their Control resource which supports ongoing control and identification.

‘For landholders that are interested in attending a future Weed ID and Advice Workshops the best thing to do is follow the PHBG Facebook page and sign up to our quarterly newsletter. This way they are informed of our upcoming events,’ Ms Hooper-Worrell said.