A major biosecurity effort to search Southland farms for the aggressive crop weed velvetleaf is winding down.
Large teams from the region's councils and agencies have checked more than 4000 hectares of fodder beet crops across Southland over the last five weeks.
Search and destroy activities have been conducted on more than 600 properties since March this year when velvetleaf was discovered in 11 regions on 215 properties.
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Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director of investigations, diagnostics and response Veronica Herrera says it's been a collaborative approach.
"People have literally been trudging through vast areas of fodder beet and, in some cases, very rugged terrain in a bid to find and destroy velvetleaf."
Environment Southland chief executive Rob Philips says the enormous undertaking was achieved through the joint effort of many organisations.
"The success of this operation has seen everybody working together to achieve the best outcome for Southland.
"The Ministry for Primary Industries has led the response at a national level and supported Environment Southland to get the work completed. A significant portion of the country's fodder beet crops are planted here in Southland, making the job much bigger and more challenging than elsewhere."
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Searchers found nearly 200 velvetleaf plants on farms across Southland, with each plant capable of dropping up to 17,000 seeds. Letting the invasive weed run wild could have devastated future crops and had significant impact on the livelihoods of the region's farmers.
Smaller operations were also carried out in other rural areas, with velvetleaf discovered in the Waikato, Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago.
MPI will now take charge of the long-term control of the weed, although farmers are being urged to continue checking their crops for any signs of the yellow-flowering weed which can grow up to 2.5 metres tall.
"Workshops will be held over the next few weeks where we will be seeking input on interim measure as well as long-term management," says Dr Herrera.
MPI is continuing to investigate how contaminated fodder beet seed could have entered the country.
"Landowners need to continue inspecting their properties for late-emerging velvetleaf and farmers should ensure their on-farm biosecurity measures are robust and enduring," says Dr Herrera.
Seeds can last for over 50 years, and the plant squeezes out other crops by competing for space, nutrients, and water.
Newshub.
