He loves me, he loves me not!
Weedy truths
School day crushes will throw their hands up at the very notion of eradicating the common Cape Weed, the glorious mini sunflower-like plant, the one that said, petal by petal, he loves me, he loves me not, until the last petal pulled declared the truth of your heart’s desire.
But it is not a favorite! Not with what my farmer dad had to go through. Paddocks blazing a glorious golden spread of daisy-like flowers, shimmering in the wind above their rich green leaves, roots deeply embedded in the soil were not something he looked forward to if they flourished where he planted his next wheat. No-one would thank him for taking in a harvested load of grain with Cape Weed in the testing spear thrust deep into the bin on the back of his truck.
What is the problem with Cape Weed? Some of the issues are documented on good ol’ Google. Like, Cape Weed can be poisonous and indigestible if eaten in large quantities, and can cause respiratory issues, all of which are mostly issues of livestock agriculture. A build-up of nitrates in the blood affects the oxygen-carrying capacity, and rapid death can result. Nasty.
A Cape Weed plant growing under favorable conditions can produce up to 4000 seeds, For the farmer, this is a serious issue. According to the Department of Agriculture, in Western Australia, competition from anywhere between 7-90 capeweed plants per square meter in a wheat crop can reduce crop yield by as much as a quarter and anywhere up to nearly a half. That is, the Cape Weed seeds are harvested with the sown grain. And, in turn, of course, it then reduces the return, the monetary gain from the crop, by anywhere from a quarter to three quarter of its clean value, that is, no Cape weed taking up space in the sample obtained by the spear. A spear is a long tube, thrust into the bin full of grain, it’s a random sample, and typifies the full load. It’s what measures the return, the income, from that load.
To eradicate Cape Weed is impossible. But to control it, there’s a range of herbicides with which my dad could spray his crops with to reduce the growth of this inglorious burst of unwelcome sunshiny flowers.
Handling toxins is all part of farming. Google advises that herbicides are typically applied using a boom sprayer, spraying the herbicide directly onto the Cape Weed plants while the wheat crop is growing, ensuring to use a selective herbicide that targets Cape weed without harming the wheat. This is usually done as a post-emergent application, meaning the herbicide is applied after both the wheat, barely, rye or oats – whatever grain the farmer sows, and Cape Weed have emerged from the soil, often at the early stages of plant growth to maximize effectiveness. More herbicide is needed if the Cape Weed is more advanced. Pretty flowers are not welcome. Love me not.
It’s not uncommon to see swathes of Cape Weed in bloom along the roadside, on the edges of farm paddocks and in the Australian bush. Like the area right near my school in my school days. We’d garner a flower or two and find out who loved us and who did not! Sometimes we’d make a small slit in the stem of a flower and link another through it, making daisy chains to wear around our neck or wrist. Of course, at school, we’d have to remove them before going into class. After all, we weren’t meant to wandering through the out-of-bounds nearby bush!
In the home garden, Cape Weed is more of a pretty nuisance, but considering the impact on Australian agriculture, the less there is the better. It’s over 60 years since I plucked the petals of the cute flowers. But knowing what I know (long before now), I don’t care whether it loves me, or loves me not.
Ack: Images by Beverly Buckley from Pixabay