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MANAGING GORSE
LEARNING HUB
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
NEWS
FAQs
ABOUT VGT
CONTACT
MANAGING GORSE
LEARNING HUB
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
NEWS
FAQs
ABOUT VGT
CONTACT
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Native Vegetation / Plantations / Grasslands
Areas covered with remnant and native vegetation, including grasslands and plantations.
Select Infestation Size
Light
Medium
Heavy
Select Treatment Type
Herbicidal Control
Mechanical Control
Alternative Methods
Strategic Approach
Before treating gorse, it is important to plan out your approach. Consider your landscape, the time of year and the amount of time and money you can spend.
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Minimise Disturbance
Gorse establishes more readily after it has been disturbed. Gorse establishes more readily after a flood, fire or when soil is disturbed through cultivation or erosion.
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Revegetation
Other vegetation including trees that provide canopy cover will compete with gorse to inhibit its growth or re-establishment.
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BioControl
Biocontrol uses natural enemies of gorse to control the weed. Biocontrol agents released in Victoria to date include the gorse soft shoot moth, gorse seed weevil, gorse spider mite and gorse thrips.
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Burning
Burning is useful for removing dead gorse treated by herbicide to improve access for follow-up treatment. However, fire can also regenerate gorse seeds in soil, so follow-up treatment is vital.
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Grooming / Mulching
Grooming or mulching involves cutting the gorse into pieces using a mulching head, hammer hill, groomer or similar attached to an excavator or an articulated arm on a backhoe.
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Slashing
Slashing uses a large mechanical cutter attached to a tractor to reduce the body of gorse. Slashing works best for large gorse patches although it is not suitable for large mature woody gorse because of physical design limitations. The slasher will not reach gorse below the slasher cutting level and slashing can encourage gorse to flower and seed at lower height levels.
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Backpack Spraying
Backpack spraying involves diluting a registered herbicide with water and wetting the entire gorse plant using a backpack spray pump pack. If you’re not confident with backpack spraying, you can contact a commercial contractor.
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Foliar High-Volume Spraying
Foliar high-volume spraying involves completely wetting the entire gorse plant with a high volume of water mixed with a registered herbicide.
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Cut & Paint
To cut and paint gorse involves sawing or lopping the stems as close to the ground and as cleanly as possible and immediately treating the stump with a registered herbicide – within 20 seconds for the best results.
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