BLACKBERRY

Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus species aggregate) is a prickly scrambling shrub with dark coloured berries. It forms thickets and is one of Australia’s worst weeds.It is also known as: black berry, blackberries, black berries. Blackberry is a plant is a Weed of National Significance.
Blackberry has already cost around $100 million to control and in lost production. It quickly infests large areas, forms dense thickets that restrict stock access to waterways, access via fire trails
takes over pastures and is unpalatable to most livestock. It reduces native habitat for plants and animals, fuels bushfires and provides shelter for rabbits and foxes, it provides food for introduced species such as starlings, blackbirds and foxes. Nine species occur in NSW: Rubus anglocandicans
Rubus leucostachys, Rubus polyanthemus, Rubus laciniatus, Rubus ulmifolius var. ulmifolius and var. anoplothyrsus, Rubus vestitus, Rubus leightonii, Rubus phaeocarpus.

Blackberry is considered a serious environmental threat and is highly invasive. It can provide harbour and a food source for pest species, as well as serve to outcompete and eliminate other vegetation by excluding light from the soil surface. Blackberry is an extremely serious agricultural threat, owing to its rapid growth and ability to reproduce through various methods. It is a highly invasive species that will readily establish on disturbed sites and infest large areas. Once established it is expensive to manage and can even be a fire hazard due to large amounts of dead canes.

European Blackberry is found throughout temperate Australia, from just north of the Queensland – New South Wales border across southern Australia in areas where the annual rainfall exceeds 700 mm. It is thought to have reached the limits of its potential distribution.

Spray FireHawk Bioherbicide Concentrate: 50 mL/L of water. Respray if regrowth occurs. Pull out creepers including roots.