Patterson's Curse Management - On Farm

by Paul Newell ATBC www.atbc.com

Horse and cattle grazing enterprises promote Patterson's Curse dominant pastures in areas which are suitable for its growth! Sheep grazing does not !
Looking from the air in Spring the intensity of purple ground indicates this. The heaviest purple is in horse paddocks, medium purple is cattle paddocks, and absence of purple is sheep country.
Permanent perennial pastures compete well with the annual plant, Patterson's Curse.
We use two methods of Patterson's Curse management
(a) slashing Patterson's Curse at 10% flowering and allowing permanent grasses to dominate in any rotational system of grazing reduces its dominance in pastures.
(b) Spray Grazing
A method developed by the Department of Agriculture - removes Patterson's Curse plant material each year, eliminates its ability to seed and promotes healthy balance perennial pastures of legumes and grasses. The method uses a boomspray application of a small amount (Patterson's Curse sub-lethal) of the hormone spray MCPA,specific to Patterson's Curse and other broad leaf weeds, but at this rate does not affect grasses and clovers. Ten days later when Patterson's Curse plants have been thoroughly affected systemically and their inability to grow after defoliation is assured a large mob of older sheep is used to crash graze each paddock,quickly.
In our area if this technique is carried out in Autumn and early Winter, pastures grow back abundantly (with the Patterson's Curse converted to natural fertilizer) and no Patterson's Curse is utilized by horses.
We consider sheep to be the biological control for Patterson's Curse in our operation and they return us wool and lambs.