Chilean needle grass is highly invasive, producing large numbers of long lived seeds spread generally by attachment to animals or machinery. The sharp seed can downgrade wool and injure stock. Identification of the plant is very difficult, other when it is in flower, as it is very similar to native spear grasses. If Chilean needle grass is allowed to establish in an area and to set seed it will prove virtually impossible to eradicate. On arable land a succession of fodder crop plantings followed by establishment of perennial pasture will achieve some measure of control but otherwise the only real choice is to utilise the productive potential of the plant by effective grazing management.
Links:
Department Primary Industries – WeedWise NSW – Chilean Needle Grass
Macquarie Valley & Lachlan Valley Weeds Advisory Committees – Chilean Needle Grass
