Olive orchard inspections and Sticky-beak Days underway
Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula are undertaking annual inspections of olive orchards across southern Eyre Peninsula to ensure growers are meeting their responsibility to minimise the spread of olive seeds into feral populations.
Natural Resource Management Officer, Kate Brocklehurst said most olive growers are cooperative with the inspections and generally keep their olive groves well maintained.
“Natural Resource Management Officers work with growers to ensure that fruit dispersal by birds and other animals from the orchard is minimised and any unwanted olive trees and seedlings are being controlled,” Kate said.
Feral olive trees, those ‘not planted and not maintained for domestic or commercial use’, are declared under the Natural Resources Management Act 2004. All land managers are required to control feral olives on their land and the adjoining road reserve.
“Feral olive trees are an invasive weed and pose a significant environmental threat to native vegetation and wildlife habitat.
“Those of us who have an olive tree in our garden are also responsible for picking the fruit each year.
“If you have planted olive trees in your yard we ask that everyone does the right thing by picking all of the fruit each year, otherwise they should be removed,” Kate said.
Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula are running Sticky-beak Days on 7, 8 and 9 November in the Koppio Hills for local land managers to learn different control techniques, such as cut and swab, basal barking and frilling.
All land managers wishing to learn more about olive control are welcome to attend.
If you would like more information on how to control olives or would like to attend the Sticky-beak Days in November please contact Kate Brocklehurst on (08) 8688 3111.
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