CSIRO Targets Invasive Weeds With Natural Enemies

Jon Falkenmire spent his final years trying to clear African boxthorn from his Manilla property near Tamworth in New South Wales (NSW). The 77-year-old would spend a day or more a month cutting the dense thorny weed from the outside in, before climbing underneath to remove the aggressive invader from the ground. It was quite literally a thorn in his side. Today his widow Carmel James is carrying on his work, as she continues to regenerate their property. “The thorns are about three inches long, they are very sharp, and to cut it off you’ve got to climb in underneath it, which is almost impossible because the branches go down to the ground.”...