Hudson pear control program
We’re proud to be working with the community and Castlereagh Macquarie County Council to help manage Hudson pear in North West NSW.
The Hudson Pear Control Program will be in operation until June 2027, and aims to stop the spread and progressively contain Hudson pear while the core infestation is treated with the biological control (Chocineal sp.).
The program includes:
- providing chemical access to landholders, free to those in identified priority areas
- targeted spraying of Hudson Pear outliers and high-risk containment zones
Two full time positions have also been created this year within North West Local Land Services to manage the program.
The Hudson Pear Taskforce is also overseeing the program - an independently chaired committee of stakeholders inclusive of industry bodies, state agencies, local government, landholders and interest groups.
Hudson pear chemical distribution
Chemical is currently being supplied to landholders for the following uses:
- establishment of containment zones outside core infestations of Hudson pear to maintain/progressively shrink containment lines or manage new outbreaks
- local eradication of outlier incursions in strategic locations
- creation of buffer zones by landholders in core infestation areas around high spread risk zones/pathways on their property such as roads/tracks, infrastructure and property boundaries.
Landholder chemical access will not target treatment of the core infestation of Hudson pear. In these areas the biological control will continue to be distributed and established.
Allocation of amounts of chemical will be informed by project scale, relative priority to other projects, activity completion and chemical stock availability. Limits to chemical supply will be considered if the program becomes fully subscribed.
Chemical is not being supplied to landholders for:
- statutory weed control
- clearing of native vegetation
- activities that have already been completed.
How to apply for chemical for Hudson pear control
Currently, landholders with Hudson pear on their property in the Brewarrina and Walgett shires can submit an expression of interest to gain access to chemical.
Download the expression of interest form PDF, 84.24 KB and return to Todd Pallister (contact details below).
- Landholders will need to hold a current AQF3 chemical certificate to obtain chemical supplies.
- Chemical, wetter and dye will be supplied. Landholders are required to pick up the chemical at the collection point.
- Landholders will need to make a 1 to 1 in-kind contribution to the value of chemical provided. This is normally done as in-kind labour when spraying the Hudson pear.
- Chemical will not be supplied to contractors or sub-contractors on behalf of landholders.
To be eligible landholders must also:
- be able to demonstrate that proposed activities are over and above any statutory landholder requirements for weed management under the Biosecurity Act 2015
- be willing to agree to enter into an agreement for the provision of herbicide. Approved Landholders will be required to pick up chemical from designated locations within agreed timeframes.
Hudson pear program update
Since January 2023, over 40,000 hectares of Hudson pear spreading margins and outliers have been controlled across the region. Activities continuing include:
- sourcing registered chemical products to enable farmers and contractors to control Hudson Pear on property boundaries, high-risk spread areas and containment lines
- aerial inspections to identify and map outlying incursions adjacent to known containment lines to inform further ground control programs
- Working with the NSW Department of Primary Industries to support the breeding and supply of pure Cochineal sp. lineage
- We are providing technical and operational support to the Cochineal sp. mass rearing facility at Lightning Ridge (operated by Castlereagh Macquarie County Council).
More information
To find out more about the program, please:
- contact Todd Pallister, Cacti Control Coordinator - Hudson Pear, North West Local Land Services on 0457 939 055 or todd.pallister@lls.nsw.gov.au
- or sign up to the Hudson Pear stakeholder newsletter for regular updates.