With warm and windy weather a constant during summer, it’s a hard enough task to maintain perfect pastures without the threat of other pests causing unwanted damage.
Yellow bristle grass is listed as a Sustained Control Pest Plant in our Tasman Nelson Regional Pest Management Plan and is found mostly in Golden Bay and the upper Buller catchment.
Originating in sub-tropical China and spread throughout Asia and Europe assisted by humans, it also occurs as a weed in North America, Africa, Australia, and throughout New Zealand.
It is an extremely aggressive annual grass which spreads rapidly through pasture. It reduces pasture quality in late summer and autumn and cows may avoid it when in seed, leading to low pasture utilisation.
Yellow bristle grass has been spread throughout our region by road edge mowing machinery and contaminated hay and baleage harvested from local paddocks that are infested with it.
It begins growing in spring and seeding occurs from December to April. Once seed is set, it will persist in open ground and will sprout annually.
The best approach to combat the spread is to be wary of bought-in hay that may contain yellow bristle grass seeds. Ensure you check for seedlings developing at your hay barn entrance. Be careful with cultivation, resowing and pasture management.
We recommend spraying with a germination-inhibiting spray, such as TAG G2. Download this brochure for more information. (pdf 2.8 MB)