Wild ginger tackled

Biological and cyber warfare are two of the latest tools a multiagency group is keen to employ to tackle a serious weed pest invading thousands of hectares of Northland.

Wild ginger – originally native to Nepal – loves Northland’s warm and wet climate and its high rate of spread makes it an ‘ecosystem transformer’ that has already invaded at least 5000 hectares of the region.

Don McKenzie, biosecurity manager for the Northland Regional Council, says it’s a serious problem due to the way it takes over the forest floor and prevents native species from regenerating.

The Stop Wild Ginger Stakeholder Group would like the public to support a petition to introduce bio control agents to deal with the plant. McKenzie says normal herbicides are having limited effects on the plant and can’t be used in dense areas of bush.

‘‘We want to raise awareness of just how bad this weed is in Northland and fund research for better, smarter technologies to control it, so ‘drop a pin’ on our interactive website map, sign the petition and check out where wild ginger is in your neighbourhood.’’

McKenzie says those keen to do their bit can learn more about the wild ginger via the new website stopwildginger.co.nz

Information is also available via nrc.govt.nz/nasties