Time to celebrate our wonderful weevils

The Rangitīkei Horsetail Group invites all interested parties to join a celebration of a global first with the successful introduction of a weevil to help control the pest plant field horsetail.

On Wednesday April 28 from 11-1pm at Ferry View farm, the first farm to show weevil victory, we will celebrate the close of this nine year project.
 
After the 2004 floods field horsetail moved on mass from the waterways to farmland and quickly took hold.
 
“Horsetail is identified as a major concern as it can outcompete grass and is known to spoil hay. It is almost impossible to eliminate, meaning stock and pasture can be considerably affected by this pest plant.” Chair Alistair Robertson says.
 
“In a global first weevils have been deployed to help control this weed.
 
“The Rangitīkei Horsetail group was started in 2012 and worked to secure funding for research and scientists via Landcare Research to find a solution to this harmful problem.
 
“We found the only option was to control rather than eliminate the weed. Working with scientists in New Zealand and from England it was determined the best bet was the field horsetail weevil and we set about getting it to New Zealand.
 
“With the now successful deployment of the weevil this draws the initial project team to a close and provides the opportunity to highlight the hard work done by all involved including: Horizons Regional Council, Landcare Research, AgResearch, Clifton School, Landcare Trust, Rangitīkei District Council, and Rangitīkei Aggregates Limited.
 
“This celebratory final field day will include experts talking about what we’ve achieved, what it means, and what the future now looks like for this weevil and pest plant.”
 
“In the future we hope that enough weevils can be reared in their natural environment to have our own nursery for landowners to collect weevils from.” says Horizons’ Environmental Programme Coordinator, Craig Davey

Should you wish to attend please RSVP Craig.Davey@horizons.govt.nz by 26 April