Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Canberra

A BAE submission to the IAC

PROJECT 22309

Research on this project was supported by grants from the Wool Research Trust Fund and the Australian Meat Research Committee

ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

OF ECHIUM SPECIES Australian Government Publishing Service

Canberra 1985

@Commonwealth of Australia 1985

Printed by Canberra Publishing and Printing Co.. Fyshwick. A.C.T.

FOREWORD

The c o n t r o l o f Echium, commonly c a l l e d S a l v a t i o n Jane o r P a t e r s o n ' s Curse , h a s been widely debated. I n October 1984, t h e M i n i s t e r f o r Primary I n d u s t r y , Mr John Ker in , announced t h a t t h e I n d u s t r i e s Ass i s t ance Commission would conduct an i n q u i r y concerning t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l of Echium. The Commission was asked t o r e p o r t t o t h e Government w i t h i n n i n e months.

T h i s submission is t h e f i r s t made bv t h e Bureau i n accordance wi th t h e B i o l o g i c a l C o n t r o l A c t 1984. I t is concerned wi th t h e economic e f f e c t s o f b i o l o q i c a l c o n t r o l of Echium on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n b roadac re s e c t o r , c o s t s o f honey p roduc t ion and r e l a t e d p o l i c y i s s u e s .

The submission was prepared by B i l l Watson and Jill B r i g g s C la rk under t h e d i r e c t s u p e r v i s i o n o f Bernard Wonder i n t h e Bureau's Rura l P roduc t ion Economics Branch.

ANDY STOECKEL Director

Bureau o f A g r i c u l t u r a l ~ c o n o m i c s Canberra ACT

May 1985

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Bureau wishes t o acknowledge t h e a s s i s t a n c e which many o t h e r o r g a n i s a t i o n s , agenc ie s and i n d i v i d u a l s made dur ing t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h i s submission. In p a r t i c u l a r , va luab le a s s i s t a n c e was provided by J i m Dellow and John Seaman o f t h e A g r i c u l t u r a l Research and Ve te r ina ry Centre , New South Wales Department o f Agr i cu l tu re , Orange; David Lane o f t h e Kei th Turnbul l Research I n s t i t u t e , V i c t o r i a n Department o f Conservat ion , F o r e s t s and Lands; P e t e r Kloot o f t h e South A u s t r a l i a n Department o f Agr i cu l tu re ; and E r n e s t Del fosse o f t h e CSIRO Divis ion o f Entomology.

Seve ra l o f f i c e r s w i t h i n t h e Bureau con t r ibu ted s i g n i f i c a n t l y t o t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h i s submission. I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e e f f o r t s o f Murray Lembit, Noel. F l a v e l , Ken Menz, Br i an Morse and Br i an Fisher a r e g r a t e f u l l y acknowledged.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

iii

i v

Summary and Conclus ions 1

1. I n t r o d u c t i o n

1.1 Background t o t h e i n q u i r y

1.2 Terms o f r e f e r e n c e

1 .3 O u t l i n e o f t h i s submission

2. S i g n i f i c a n c e of Echium i n A u s t r a l i a n A g r i c u l t u r e

2.1 Background

2.2 Economic s i g n i f i c a n c e o f Echium

2.3 P rev ious s t u d i e s

3. Economic Aspects o f Weed C o n t r o l

3.1 D e f i n i t i o n and systems approach

3.2 Success and economic r e t u r n s from b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l

3.3 Government i n t e r v e n t i o n i n b i o l o g i c a l weed c o n t r o l

4. Conceptua l Framework f o r t h e Ana lys i s

4.1 The g e n e r a l s o c i a l cost-benef it model

4.2 Schematic o u t l i n e o f b e n e f i t s and c o s t s

4.3 Es t ima te s o f b e n e f i t s and c o s t s and miss ing d a t a

5. Ana lys i s o f B e n e f i t s and Cos t s

5.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n

5.2 The BAE r e g i o n a l progrannning model

5.3 Break-even a n a l y s i s

6. Compensation 2 8

Appendix A: The Economic S i g n i f i c a n c e o f Echium: Agronomic D e t a i l s 3 0

Appendix B: Types o f B i o l o g i c a l C o n t r o l and The i r Advantages 3 6

Appendix C: B i o l o g i c a l and Non-Biological C o n t r o l s o f Echium 3 8

Appendix D: Government Involvement i n Weed C o n t r o l 41

References 4 2

Map

Ech ium a r e a s and Regional Programming Model bounda r i e s

ECONOMIC I M P L I C A T I O N S OF THE B IOLOGICAL CONTROL OF ECHIUM SPECIES

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

. For many y e a r s the c o n t r o l o f Echium ( o t h e r w i s e known a s P a t e r s o n ' s C u r s e , S a l v a t i o n J a n e o r R i v e r i n a B l u e b e l l ) h a s been d e b a t e d a t Commonwealth and S t a t e levels. In some a r e a s o f s o u t h - e a s t e r n A u s t r a l i a , the p l a n t h a s been r e g a r d e d a s a weed b u t e l s e w h e r e ( i n S o u t h A u s t r a l i a i n p a r t i c u l a r ) , a p i a r i s t s and f a r m e r s h a v e v o i c e d s i g n i f i c a n t o p p o s i t i o n t o i t s b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l .

. I n r e c e n t y e a r s , the CSIRO h a s d e v e l o p e d b i o l o g i c a l control a g e n t s t o c o n t r o l the d e n s i t y o f Echium s t a n d s . T h e r e l e a s e o f s u c h a g e n t s i s governed b y the B i o l o g i c a l C o n t r o l A c t 1 9 8 4 , w h i c h p r o v i d e s f o r an i n q u i r y t o be c o n d u c t e d b y the I n d u s t r i e s A s s i s t a n c e Commission f o l l o w i n g a r e q u e s t f rom the B i o l o g i c a l C o n t r o l A u t h o r i t y .

. T h e t e r m s o f r e f e r e n c e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the i n q u i r y f o c u s o n t w o m a i n i s s u e s :

- f i r s t , w h e t h e r it i s i n the best interest o f a l l A u s t r a l i a n s f o r Echium t o be the t a r g e t o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l ; and

- s e c o n d , w h i c h i n d u s t r i e s i n the A u s t r a l i a n r u r a l s e c t o r and the economy i n g e n e r a l would be a f f e c t e d b y the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium, and t o what d e g r e e ; and w h e t h e r a n y a s s i s t a n c e m i g h t be p r o v i d e d .

. I n th i s s u b m i s s i o n , b o t h o f these i s s u e s are c o n s i d e r e d b u t the i m p l i c a t i o n s o f the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium f o r the honey and g r a z i n g i n d u s t r i e s are the m a i n f o c u s o f the s t u d y . T h e m a i n prob lem examined i s w h e t h e r o r n o t the l o s s e s t h a t c a n be e x p e c t e d t o be i n c u r r e d b y the h o n e y i n d u s t r y and the g r a z i n g i n d u s t r y i n l o w e r r a i n f a l l a r e a s , a s a r e s u l t o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l , c a n be more t h a n o f f s e t b y p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y g a i n s e l s e w h e r e i n A u s t r a l i a . T h i s i s s u e i s r e g a r d e d b y the Bureau a s fundamenta l t o any d e c i s i o n r e g a r d i n g the r e l e a s e o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l a g e n t s . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e p o t e n t i a l g a i n e r s and l o s e r s from b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium a r e i d e n t i f i e d .

S i g n i f i c a n c e o f Echium i n A u s t r a l i a n a g r i c u l t u r e

. In o n e form o r a n o t h e r , Echium o c c u r s i n a l l S t a t e s , b u t i s m o s t p r e v a l e n t i n s o u t h - w e s t e r n W e s t e r n A u s t r a l i a , c e n t r a l and s o u t h e r n S o u t h A u s t r a l i a , s o u t h - e a s t e r n Queens land and m o s t o f New S o u t h W a l e s , V i c t o r i a and Tasmania .

. In many a r e a s , Echium i s r e g a r d e d a s a weed owing t o i t s a b i l i t y t o compete a g a i n s t improved p a s t u r e s and the prob lems it p r e s e n t s f o r c r o p sowing and h a r v e s t i n g . However, i n o t h e r a r e a s ( p a r t i c u l a r l y l o w e r r a i n f a l l a r e a s ) , p a s t o r a l i s t s r e g a r d Echium a s a v a l u a b l e f e e d s o u r c e . A p i a r i s t s c o n s i d e r it a u s e f u l s o u r c e o f h o n e y and p o l l e n .

. O v e r a l l , there i s c o n s i d e r a b l e u n c e r t a i n t y s u r r o u n d i n g the c o n t r i b u t i o n o f Echium t o the economy. T h e Bureau i s unaware o f a n y s t u d i e s a t the n a t i o n a l level, a l t h o u g h s e v e r a l s t u d i e s h a v e been c o n d u c t e d b y S t a t e Governments and the h o n e y i n d u s t r y .

- A 1978 South Australian Government study concluded that, in South Australia, it is likely that 'in most circumstances biological control will have greater costs than it has benefitsr.

- A 1978 Victorian Government study noted the significant costs of Echium in Victoria for the livestock, grain and pasture seed industries. The study concluded that biological control agents should be released on Paterson1s Curse in Victoria providing that there is no evidence of possible damage to other plant species of importance.

Members of the honey industry estimate that Echium provides about 10-15 per cent, or between $1.4m and $2.9m, of the annual gross value of honey production. This estimate includes only pure Echium honey rather than the total value of Echiumls contribution to pure Echium and blended honey production. Echium is also an important source of pollen and nectar which supports the buildup of the bee population early in the season and is of considerable importance for widespread incidental pollination.

Public involvement in biological weed control

. The case for government intervention in biological weed control centres on the 'public good' nature and externality characteristics of such control and the benefits and costs in the provision of that good.

- The public good aspect arises because private individuals or firms will not have the incentive to undertake biological weed control at an optimum level from society's point of view. The reason is that private groups cannot fully capture the benefits from their investments; hence, the prima facie case for government involvement.

- While the public good characteristics of biological control may provide a prima facie case for government involvement, it is necessary, from an economic viewpoint, to demonstrate that the social benefits from intervention exceed the social costs before action is taken.

- Biological control of weeds is seen to have important externality characteristics. The release of agents may affect some individuals adversely through the damage of both non-target and target species and a reduction in the incidental pollination of commercial crops.

. Other factors relevant to the case for government intervention in weed control include:

- the need for a co-ordinated weed control effort;

- difficulties that individuals may confront in capturing the benefits from investment in biological research and development and the role of patent and related property right devices in this area; and

- a less than socially desirable quantity of information on weed control.

Cost-benefit a~~raisal of bioloaical weed control

. From an economic perspective, the key issue underlying the debate about biological control of Echium is whether or not it will raise the

community's overall level of welfare. Of course, the community consists of a variety of interest groups which may be affected in different ways by the biological control of Echium. For example, honey producers may be disadvantaged by biological control, while cattle producers i n higher rainfall areas may stand to gain significantly. In an economic analysis, such a dilemma is solved by answering the question: will the community's welfare be improved with less of the goods and services provided by those who lose from biological control and more of the goods and services provided by those with an economic interest in releasing biological control agents?

. In order to address this issue, a cost-benefit framework is adopted. This framework is used primarily to examine the resource allocation implications of investment from a national perspective.

. While it has not been possible for the Bureau to conduct a full cost-benefit analysis of a biological control program for Echium, attention is given in this submission to a very important component of the cost-benefit calculus. In particular, use is made of the Bureau's Regional Programming Model to estimate the changes in pasture productivity in higher rainfall areas that would be required to offset any losses, due to biological control of Echium, incurred by the honey industry and the grazing industry in lower rainfall areas of Australia. The results of previous Bureau research indicate that improvements in pasture productivity offer considerable potential for improving returns to Australia's grazing industries.

Gainers and losers from biological control of Echium

. In the event that a biological control program for Echium is technically 'successful' in the sense that biological control agents modify the target population, there are likely to be some groups that gain and others that lose within the rural sector.

. The major beneficiaries would include beef, sheep and dairy producers in the higher rainfall and more productive areas where increases in pasture productivity and reductions in production costs are potentially most significant.

. Pastoralists in lower rainfall areas may lose from biological control of Echium if their pastures are replaced by species of lower productivity.

. Beekeepers also could lose as a result of the biological control of Echium, especially if alternative sources of pollen and nectar cannot be established at comparable cost levels.

. 4 reduction in the density of Echium stands due to biological control may result in less material being available to sustain the bee population, thereby lowering the level of incidental pollination of crops and pastures. While this effect is highly uncertain (due to the possibility that alternative species suitable for pollen and nectar collection may replace Echium), it may result in diminished returns to a range of producers.

. Both domestic and overseas consumers of rural products could gain from biological control of Echium if the supply of livestock products increased to a level which lowered their respective world prices.

. T h e analysis o f benefi ts and costs o f biological control o f Echium i s undertaken i n two stages. Firs t , the costs o f biological control for the honey industry and the grazing industry i n lower rainfal l areas o f Australia are estimated. Second, these costs are used to determine the magnitude o f pasture productivity increases i n higher rainfall areas that would need to be obtained through biological control i n order to achieve net national benef i t s . I t i s important t o bear i n mind that t h i s break-even analysis does not address any costs or benefi ts other than those generated by the impact o f biological control o f Echium on the grazing and honey industries. Nevertheless, some of the benefi ts and costs not accounted for i n th i s analysis, such as the impact o f biological control on the tourist industry and human health, may o f f s e t each other i n a cost-benefit appraisal. Other benef i t s , such as those which accrue t o domestic and overseas consumers as a result o f biological control, may be relatively small. Also, some costs, such as the cost o f developing biological control agents, are not addressed, although, t o a significant extent , these are already sunk.

. In the f i r s t stage of the analysis, the Bureau examined a range o f simulations through the use o f i t s Regional Programming Model. (The model i s a representation o f Australian broadacre agriculture and contains thirteen climatically homogeneous regions.)

. The simulations re f lec t varying opinions on the l i ke ly e f f e c t s of biological control o f Echium on pasture productivity i n lower rainfall areas of the grazing industry. In particular, there appears to be considerable uncertainty about Echiumls weed status i n what the Bureau defines as the Wheat-Sheep Zone o f Australian agriculture. To re f lec t th i s uncertainty, three scenarios were examined.

- In scenario 1, it was assumed that biological control o f Echium would lower pasture productivity i n the Bureau's Pastoral and Wheat-Sheep Zones.

- In scenario 2, it was assumed that biological control o f Echium would lower pasture productivity i n the Pastoral Zone only.

- In scenario 3 , it was assumed that biological control o f Echium had no net e f f e c t on pasture productivity i n the Wheat-Sheep and Pastoral zones. For th i s third scenario, the major costs of the biological control o f Echium became the net costs t o the honey industry which, due t o the limited availabil i ty o f data, were also highly uncertain.

. In addition, the net costs o f biological control to the honey industry were assumed to range between $2.5m and $22m, depending on the direct and indirect value of honey production, pollen value and the value of incidental pollination.

- While it i s possible that the biological control o f Echium may reduce the level o f incidental pollination, t h i s cost would be borne largely by cropping and livestock producers rather than beekeepers. The net cost o f biological control t o the honey industry could only be a maximum of $22m i n the event that beekeepers were fu l l y rewarded for incidental pollination services.

. Examination o f the results o f the pasture productivity simulations for the lower rainfall areas, together with the abovementioned costs of

b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l f o r the honey i n d u s t r y , h i g h l i g h t s the s i g n i f i c a n t v a r i a t i o n i n t o t a l c o s t s t o the honey i n d u s t r y and t h e g r a z i n g i n d u s t r y i n l a v e r r a i n f a l l a r e a s t h a t may o c c u r a s a r e s u l t o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f E c h i um . - For e x a m p l e , it was e s t i m a t e d t h a t a l p e r cent d e c l i n e i n p a s t u r e

p r o d u c t i v i t y i n the Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l Z o n e s , t o g e t h e r w i t h a n annual net cost o f $7m t o the I n n e y i n d u s t r y d u e t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l , would cost the community a p p r o x i m a t e l y $18m.

- I lavever , s h o u l d the 1 p e r c e n t d e c l i n e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y be c o n f i n e d t o the P a s t o r a l Zone and the annual net c o s t o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l t o the h o n e y i n d u s t r y be $2m r a t h e r t h a n $7m, the c o s t t o the c o r n u n i t y i s e s t i m a t e d t o be $3m.

. For the second s t a g e o f the a n a l y s i s , the B u r e a u ' s R e g i o n a l Programming Model was u s e d t o e s t i m a t e the p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y g a i n s i n h i g h e r r a i n f a l l a r e a s t h a t would be r e q u i r e d t o o f f s e t the c o s t s i n c u r r e d b y the honey i n d u s t r y and the g r a z i n g i n d u s t r y i n l o w e r r a i n f a l l a r e a s . T h e n e c e s s a r y p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y g a i n s t o o f f s e t l o s s e s e l s e w h e r e w e r e found t o v a r y , d e p e n d i n g p r i m a r i l y o n the weed s t a t u s o f Echium in the Wheat -Sheep Zone and t h e s i z e o f the annual n e t c o s t o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l t o the honey i n d u s t r y .

. O v e r a l l , h o w e v e r , t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium would m o s t l i k e l y y i e l d net s o c i a l b e n e f i t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i f the net c o s t t o the h o n e y i n d u s t r y were less t h a n $7m or there w e r e a t l e a s t some net g a i n i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n the Wheat -Sheep Z o ~ e . T h e former c o n d i t i o n may w e l l be s a t i s f i e d , g i v e n t h a t the g r o s s v a l u e o f h o n e y p r o d u c t i o n i s around $20m, t h o u g h there i s c o n s i d e r a b l e u n c e r t a i n t y r e g a r d i n g t h e i m p a c t o f b i o l o g i c a l control o f Echium i n the Wheat-Sheep Zone. A t th is s t a g e , it i s n o t p o s s i b l e f o r the Bureau t o be any more s p e c i f i c , t h o u g h it i s a n t i c i p a t e d t h a t the n e c e s s a r y s c i e n t i f i c e v i d e n c e t o f u r t h e r narrow down the costs and b e n e f i t s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l w i l l come b e f o r e t h e Commission d u r i n g the p r e s e n t i n q u i r y .

Compensa t ion

. G i v e n t h a t some g r o u p s i n the community c o u l d lose a s a r e s u l t o f the f s u c c e s s f u l f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium, there a r e the q u e s t i o n s o f w h e t h e r o r n o t c o m p e n s a t i o n s h o u l d be made a v a i l a b l e , and i f s o , what form it s h o u l d t a k e and who s h o u l d pay.

. I f the p o l i t i c a l and l e g a l p r o c e s s e s a c c e p t e d a c a s e f o r c o m p e n s a t i o n , the t o t a l cost o f d e v e l o p i n g , i m p l e m e n t i n g and a d m i n i s t e r i n g s u c h a scheme would 1 . i ke ly be u n a c c e p t a b l y h i g h , d u e t o t h e f a c t t h a t p r o p e r t y r i g h t s a r e p o o r l y d e f i n e d and the d i f f i c u l t y w i t h e s t a b l i s h i n g a p r e c i s e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f b e n e f i t s and c o s t s .

1.1 =ground t o t h e i n q u i r y

Echium(1) has been perce ived a s a weed i n some a r e a s of south-eas tern A u s t r a l i a fo r many y e a r s and is a dec la red o r proclaimed noxious weed over much of t h e a rea . The CSIRO (Commonwealth S c i e n t i f i c and I n d u s t r i a l Research Organiza t ion) has been i n v e s t i g a t i n g p o s s i b l e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium s i n c e t h e e a r l y 1970s and began exper imenta l r e l e a s e s of a leaf-mining moth i n June 1980 i n sou the rn New South Wales.

However, i n J u l y 1980, two beekeepers and two farmers (suppor ted by a group o f South A u s t r a l i a n a p i a r i s t s and f a r m e r s ) , who bel ieved t h a t Echium had b e n e f i c i a l q u a l i t i e s , ob ta ined an i n j u n c t i o n from the High Court on the grounds o f t he common law o f p r i v a t e nuisance , r e s t r a i n i n g t h e CSIRO from f u r t h e r r e l e a s e s of b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agen t s a g a i n s t Echium and o rde r ing the d e s t r u c t i o n of a l l i n s e c t s a l r e a d y r e l eased .

It became c l e a r t h a t t h e r e were two r e l a t e d problems. F i r s t , t h e r e was no p r o v i s i o n i n e x i s t i n g l e g i s l a t i o n which au tho r i sed t h e r e l e a s e o f c o n t r o l agen t s , such a s i n s e c t s o r r u s t s , i n t o t h e environment. Second, it was c l e a r t h a t t h e r e was no adequate mechanism f o r r e so lv ing a c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t concerning b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l programs with a view t o e s t a b l i s h i n g o v e r a l l n e t b e n e f i t t o t h e pub l i c .

Late i n 1984, t h e Commonwealth Government in t roduce6 l e g i s l a t i o n which has t h e p o t e n t i a l t o d e a l wi th problems a s s o c i a t e d with t h e r e l e a s e o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agents . The B i o l o g i c a l Con t ro l A c t 1984 p rov ides f o r t he e s t ab l i shmen t o f a B i o l o g i c a l Con t ro l Author i ty c o n s t i t u t e d by t h e Commonwealth Min i s t e r admin i s t e r ing t h e A c t ( i n i t i a l l y t h e Minis ter f o r Primary I n d u s t r y ) , o r a des igna ted S t a t e Min i s t e r . Under t h e A c t , a recommendation t o have an organism dec la red a t a r g e t o r an agent must be r e f e r r e d t o t h e Au thor i ty by t h e A u s t r a l i a n A g r i c u l t u r a l Council (comprising a l l S t a t e Min i s t e r s r e spons ib l e f o r primary i n d u s t r y and the Commonwealth Min i s t e r f o r Primary I n d u s t r y ) . I n d i v i d u a l a p p l i c a t i o n s t o t h e Au thor i ty may a l s o be made bu t would normally be r e f e r r e d t o t h e Council f o r recommendation.

Following a recommendation from the A u s t r a l i a n A g r i c u l t u r a l Council t o t h e B i o l o g i c a l Con t ro l Author i ty t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r agent be r e l e a s e d , t h e Au thor i ty h a s s e v e r a l op t ions a v a i l a b l e , i nc lud ing t h e o rde r ing o f a p u b l i c i nqu i ry . I n t h e case o f Echium, t h e Author i ty reques ted t h e Min i s t e r admin i s t e r ing t h e I n d u s t r i e s Ass i s t ance ~ommiss ion Act 1973 t o r e f e r t he i s s u e o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l t o t h e I n d u s t r i e s Ass i s t ance Commission f o r i nqu i ry and r epor t .

1.2 Terms o f r e fe rence

The terms o f r e fe rence f o r t h e inqu i ry i n t o the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium were forwarded t o t h e Commission by t h e Government i n October 1984, w i th a r eques t t h a t t h e Commission r e p o r t w i t h i n n ine months. The s p e c i f i c i s s u e s on which t h e Commission was reques ted t o r e p o r t included those o u t l i n e d on t h e next page.

(1) For t h e purposes o f t h i s submission, Echium spp. (Echium plantagineum L. (syn. E. l y c o p s i s ) , E i u m vu lga re and Echium i ta l icurn L.) w i l l be r e f e r r e d t o c o l l e c t i v e l y a s Echium.

' (1) .. . whether Echium sp. ( i n c l u d i n g s p e c i e s commonly known a s P a t e r s o n ' s Curse, S a l v a t i o n Jane o r R ive r ina B l u e b e l l ) should be a t a r g e t f o r b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l ;

( 2 ) .. . t h a t i n its inqu i ry and r e p o r t t he Commission s h a l l have regard t o and comment on

( a ) t h e economic advantages and d i sadvan tages of Echium sp. t o the va r ious s e c t o r s o f A u s t r a l i a n a g r i c u l t u r e and the economy i n g e n e r a l

( b ) t h e means by which b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium may be e f f e c t e d

( C ) whether any i n d u s t r i e s o r persons would be s i g n i f i c a n t l y disadvantaged a s an outcome o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium sp. and, i f so , whether any a s s i s t a n c e might be provided

( d ) t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y , e f f e c t i v e n e s s and e f f i c i e n c y of a l t e r n a t i v e methods of c o n t r o l such a s chemical , mechanical and p a s t u r e management; and

(e) conse rva t ion o f t he n a t u r a l environment, w i th regard t o t h e above;

( 3 ) t h a t t h e Commission be f r e e t o t ake evidence and, where necessary , t o make recommendations on any m a t t e r s r e l e v a n t t o its inqu i ry under t h i s r e fe rence . '

1.3 O u t l i n e o f t h i s submission

I n t h i s submission, t h e economic a n a l y s i s is focused on c l a u s e s ( l ) , ( 2 ) ( a ) and (2 ) (c) of t h e Commission's terms of r e f e r e n c e , which r e l a t e t o economic e f f i c i e n c y and the na tu re and d i s t r i b u t i o n o f b e n e f i t s and c o s t s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . In p a r t i c u l a r , t h e Bureau's a n a l y s i s p rov ides informat ion on t h e i n c r e a s e s i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s o f A u s t r a l i a necessary t o o f f s e t any l o s s e s i n n a t i o n a l o u t p u t due t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l a g e n t s lowering t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y of p a s t u r e i n lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s and t h e p roduc t ion of honey and r e l a t e d p roduc t s from Echium.

I n s e c t i o n 2, d e t a i l s o f t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e of Echium and its b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l a r e presented a s background informat ion; summaries o f p rev ious s t u d i e s a r e a l s o included. I n s e c t i o n 3 , t h e d e f i n i t i o n a l concepts of weed c o n t r o l and the concept o f ' s u c c e s s ' a s it r e l a t e s t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l programs a r e p re sen ted and the na tu re of t he economic problem is d i scussed . The conceptual framework f o r an economic a n a l y s i s is d i scussed i n s e c t i o n 4 , w i th c o n s i d e r a t i o n g iven t o the d i s t r i b u t i o n of b e n e f i t s and c o s t s and the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f d a t a . A 'break-even' a n a l y s i s o f t he l i k e l y b e n e f i t s and c o s t s a s s o c i a t e d wi th the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium is p resen ted i n s e c t i o n 5. F i n a l l y , i n s e c t i o n 6 , t he i s s u e s r e l a t e d t o compensation a r e d i scussed .

Background informat ion is provided i n more d e t a i l i n four appendixes t o t h i s submission. These inc lude 'The ~ c o n o m i c S i g n i f i c a n c e o f Echium: Agronomic D e t a i l s ' (Appendix A ) , 'Types o f B i o l o g i c a l Con t ro l and The i r Advantages' (Appendix B) , ' B i o l o g i c a l and Non-Biological Con t ro l s o f Ech ium' (Appendix C) and ' Government Involvement i n Weed Contro l ' (Appendix D ) .

SCHIUM AREAS AND REGIONAL PROGRAMMING MODEL BOUNDARIES

NORTHERN TERRITORY

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Echium areas

m Reg ions

1. Western high rainfal 2. Western wheat-sheep 3. Western pastoral 4. Southern high rainfall 5. Southern wheat-sheep 6. Southern pastoral 7. Eastern high rainfall 8. Northern wheat-sheep 9. North-eastern mixed LO. North-eastern pastoral 11. Central pastoral 12. Northern pastoral

P t ?%9!&2

L3. Tasmania TASMANIA

2. S i g n i f i c a n c e o f Echium i n A u s t r a l i a n A g r i c u l t u r e

2.1 Background

The ex tens ive na tu re of A u s t r a l i a n a g r i c u l t u r e , t h e low human popu la t ion , t h e scope f o r na t ive vege ta t ion t o be replaced by e x o t i c s p e c i e s , and t h e absence o f n a t u r a l l y occur r ing p r e d a t o r s a r e a l l f a c t o r s which have favoured the spread o f Echium. The spread o f Echium

-- plantagineum w i t h i n S t a t e s is desc r ibed i n P igg in (1977a) . Recent surveys a s s o c i a t e d wi th the c u r r e n t i nqu i ry have provided updated informat ion ( S c o t t and Kenneally 1981; E.S. De l fos se , CSIRO, pe r sona l communication, January 1985; D. Lane, Department of A g r i c u l t u r e , V i c t o r i a , pe r sona l communication, January 1985; Dellow and Seaman 1985) .

E. plantagineum occur s i n a l l S t a t e s but is most p r e v a l e n t throughout south-western Western A u s t r a l i a , c e n t r a l and southern South A u s t r a l i a , south-eas tern Queensland, most o f N e w South Wales, V i c t o r i a and Tasmania. It is a l s o spreading around Al i ce S p r i n g s i n the Northern T e r r i t o r y ( see map). Echium i t a l i c u m grows i n sou the rn New South Wales and Echium vu lga re on the t a b l e l a n d s of New South Wales and V i c t o r i a . However, both occur i n l i m i t e d and i s o l a t e d l o c a l i t i e s (P igg in 1977a) .

2.2 Economic s i g n i f i c a n c e o f Echium

Echium is impor tant t o a number of a g r i c u l t u r a l and non-ag r i cu l tu ra l i n d u s t r i e s i n A u s t r a l i a . Crop farmers , weed c o n t r o l a u t h o r i t i e s and p a s t o r a l i s t s i n a r e a s s u i t e d t o improved p a s t u r e s g e n e r a l l y regard Echium a s an undes i r ab le weed and c o s t s a r e incu r red i n its c o n t r o l and e r a d i c a t i o n . However, some p a s t o r a l i s t s i n lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s cons ide r Echium a va luab le component of t h e i r p a s t u r e s and a p i a r i s t s cons ide r it a va luab le source o f honey and p o l l e n , wh i l e the d i s p l a y o f Echium f lowers is important t o the t o u r i s t i ndus t ry , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e F l i n d e r s Ranges (P igg in 1982) . I n A u s t r a l i a , op in ions d i f f e r on almost every a s p e c t of t he s t a t u s o f Echium (P igg in 1982). A summary o f t he agronomic d e t a i l s a s s o c i a t e d wi th the a s p e c t s o f Echium which have economic s i g n i f i c a n c e a r e p re sen ted i n Appendix A. The r e a l g r o s s va lue o f p roduc t ion o f major a g r i c u l t u r a l p roduc t s i n a r e a s where Echium is of s i g n i f i c a n c e is p resen ted i n Table 1. Inspec t ion o f Table 1 i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e Wheat-Sheep and High R a i n f a l l Zones of A u s t r a l i a n a g r i c u l t u r e account f o r t h e bulk of l i v e s t o c k and c rop p roduc t s i n Echium-affected a reas . In c o n t r a s t , t h e g r o s s va lue o f p roduc t ion of t h e same p roduc t s i n the P a s t o r a l Zone is r e l a t i v e l y smal l .

2.3 P rev ious s t u d i e s

There a r e two p rev ious major economic s t u d i e s which a r e r e l e v a n t t o a c u r r e n t economic a n a l y s i s o f t he b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium. There a r e a l s o some d a t a s p e c i f i c a l l y r e l a t e d t o the honey indus t ry .

( a ) The South A u s t r a l i a n Government s tudy (1978)

I n t h e y e a r s du r ing which members o f t he CSIRO were developing c o n t r o l agen t s , depu ta t ions from farmers from lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s and r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e honey i n d u s t r y made it c l e a r t o the South A u s t r a l i a n Government t h a t not on ly was t h i s an i s s u e over which t h e r e was no consensus, b u t t h e r e was a need f o r a more d e t a i l e d study. Informat ion was accumulated from those with an i d e n t i f i e d ves ted i n t e r e s t and a c o s t - b e n e f i t a n a l y s i s c a r r i e d out .

T a b l e 1: REAL GROSS VALUE OF PRODUCTION I N AREAS OF AUSTRALIA WHERE ECHIUM OCCURS

P a s t o r a l Zone Wheat-Sheep Zone High R a i n f a l l Zone P r o d u c t 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84

B a r l e y

O a t s

Wheat

Hay P o C a t t l e

Sheep

W o o l

Milk

T o t a l

S o u r c e s : BAE; ABS (19858) .

The conclus ion reached, fo l lowing t h e a n a l y s i s , was t h a t ' i n most c i rcumstances b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l w i l l have g r e a t e r c o s t s than it has b e n e f i t s ' . I n p a r t i c u l a r , it was claimed t h a t f o r South A u s t r a l i a t he maximum b e n e f i t t o p a s t u r e is u n l i k e l y t o be more than $0.8m, under i d e a l c i rcumstances , whi le t h e maximum l o s s t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y was l i k e l y t o be $2.08m. The South A u s t r a l i a n p o l i t i c a l and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s presented t h i s informat ion t o the Standing Committee on Agr i cu l tu re and A u s t r a l i a n A g r i c u l t u r a l Council a s evidence t h a t t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium was s o c i a l l y undes i r ab le and recommended t h a t o t h e r S t a t e s conduct t h e i r own s t u d i e s be fo re a n a t i o n a l b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program was i n s t i g a t e d .

The South A u s t r a l i a n s tudy was based on an appropr i a t e conceptual a n a l y t i c framework. However, t h e s tudy was l i m i t e d i n t h a t it was concerned on ly with b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l i n South A u s t r a l i a and d i d not addres s the ques t ion of whether o r no t b i o l o g i c a l agen t s should be r e l eased from a n a t i o n a l pe r spec t ive .

(b) The V i c t o r i a n Government s tudy

This s tudy was conducted by t h e members of a committee wi th r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from t h e Department o f Crown Lands and Survey, t h e Vermin and Noxious Weeds Des t ruc t ion Board and the Department of A g r i c u l t u r e (1978). The r e p o r t produced by t h e committee was t h e V i c t o r i a n Government's c o n t r i b u t i o n t o the Standing Committee on Agr i cu l tu re and A u s t r a l i a n A g r i c u l t u r a l Council assessment on whether o r not t h e r e l e a s e o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agen t s fo r t he c o n t r o l of Echium should be undertaken.

The cormnittee a t tempted t o a s s e s s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e of Echium t o four major primary i n d u s t r i e s , t o human h e a l t h and t o land va lues , i n r e l a t i o n t o p r e s e n t l e g i s l a t i v e requirements and i n s e v e r a l a d d i t i o n a l f i e l d s . The fo l lowing is a summary o f t he key f i n d i n g s o f t h e committee 's r e p o r t , which was r e l eased i n 1978.

Lives tock indus t ry : The committee noted P i g g i n ' s (197733) view t h a t P a t e r s o n ' s Curse o f t e n c o n t r i b u t e d p o s i t i v e l y t o p a s t u r e p roduc t ion , though it was a l s o concerned about l andho lde r s ' r e j e c t i o n of t h i s view. On t h e b a s i s o f landholder opin ion, t h e committee e s t ima ted t h a t t h e p o t e n t i a l l o s s i n product ion t o t h e l i v e s t o c k i n d u s t r y , caused by compet i t ion from Echium i n no r th -eas t e rn V i c t o r i a , was a t l e a s t $4.75n a year . The l o s s was cons idered t o be g r e a t e r i n the beef i ndus t ry than i n the d a i r y o r sheep i n d u s t r i e s .

The committee concluded t h a t t he e f f e c t of Echium on animal h e a l t h and t h e contaminat ion o f animal p roduc t s from Echium was not we l l de f ined and probably n o t o f g r e a t f i n a n c i a l s i g n i f i c a n c e .

Grain indus t ry : Echium was a s ses sed t o have an e f f e c t on the c o s t o f product ion o f c e r e a l c rops i n some y e a r s b u t not t o be o f g r e a t f i n a n c i a l s i g n i f i c a n c e t o t h e i n d u s t r y a s a whole. However, t h e committee f e l t t h a t i n d i v i d u a l farmers may be s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d by the need f o r a d d i t i o n a l c u l t i v a t i o n s , a d d i t i o n a l u se of h e r b i c i d e s and t h e r ec l ean ing o f g r a i n and equipment. I t was cons idered t h a t , i n extreme cases , t h e presence o f t he p l a n t may r e s t r i c t c rop product ion because o f t h e d e l a y it causes i n sowing.

Pas tu re seed indus t ry : The committee judged t h a t t h e presence o f Echium reduced t h e product ion o f v a r i o u s seed c rops , p a r t i c u l a r l y subter ranean c l o v e r , and increased t h e d i f f i c u l t y o f ha rves t ing . Echium is a p r o h i b i t e d seed i n pas tu re seed i n V i c t o r i a and, because it is v i r t u a l l y imposs ib le t o remove comple te ly from o the r seeds , its presence i n a crop being grown f o r seed product ion cons ide rab ly reduces the va lue o f such crops .

Honey indus t ry : Echium was cons idered t o be important t o t h e honey --- i n d u s t r y a s a source o f both nec ta r and p o l l e n , e s p e c i a l l y e a r l y i n the p roduc t ive season when t h e r e a r e few a l t e r n a t i v e sources . Its value t o t h e A u s t r a l i a n honey i n d u s t r y was e s t ima ted a t $3.5m. The committee Gave c o n s i d e r a t i o n t o a l t e r n a t i v e sou rces o f supplementary carbohydra tes and p r o t e i n t o r ep lace Echium i f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l r e s u l t e d i n a s i g n i f i c a n t reduct ion i n the d e n s i t y of t he p l a n t .

Human h e a l t h : The committee repor ted evidence o f a l i n k between Echium and a l l e r g i e s i n humans, and it was claimed by a doc to r involved in t h i s a r e a o f medicine t h a t about 3 pe r c e n t o f t h e popu la t ion were s e n s i t i v e .

Land va lues : The committee presented evidence from nor the rn V i c t o r i a t h a t t h e presence of Echium reduced land va lues , o f t e n by 10-30 per c e n t , and sometimes precluded s a l e s a l t o g e t h e r .

L e g i s l a t i v e c o n t r o l requirements: The Government s p e n t $357 000 on c o n t r o l i n V i c t o r i a i n 1977-78 and farmers i n no r th -eas t e rn V i c t o r i a a lone claimed t o spend about $lm a year .

Add i t iona l problems: I t was r epor t ed t h a t Echium was becoming e s t a b l i s h e d i n p u b l i c l ands , such a s n a t i o n a l pa rks , and was competing wi th n a t i v e vege ta t ion . The cont inued use o f p e s t i c i d e s was ques t ioned, and the p o s s i b i l i t y of r e s t r i c t i o n s on p r e s e n t c o n t r o l measures noted. The committee presented evidence t h a t farm equipment used on i n f e s t e d p r o p e r t i e s might no t be used f o r c o n t r a c t work on c l ean p r o p e r t i e s and a l s o t h a t hay contaminated with Echium was d iscounted o r even unsa leab le i n some c i rcumstances . The committee be l i eved t h a t any s i g n i f i c a n t r educ t ion i n Echium throughout A u s t r a l i a may r e s u l t i n a reduct ion i n bee popu la t ions , which may have an e f f e c t on t h e e x t e n t o f p o l l i n a t i o n o f some a g r i c u l t u r a l c rops .

Recommendation: The committee recommended t h a t b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agen t s be r e l eased on Echium i n V i c t o r i a , provided t h e r e was no evidence of p o s s i b l e damage t o o t h e r p l a n t s p e c i e s o f importance. Although t h i s s tudy d i d not adopt a c o s t - b e n e f i t a n a l y t i c a l framework, it remains one o f t h e most comprehensive socio-economic a n a l y s e s a v a i l a b l e . I t is s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t the committee claimed t h a t they were r e s t r i c t e d i n not being a b l e t o a s s e s s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f Echium i n s e v e r a l a r e a s because of t he l ack of s c i e n t i f i c d a t a and r e l e v a n t records .

( C ) The honey i n d u s t r y

D e t a i l s r e l a t e d t o t h e impact on and importance o f Echium t o the honey i n d u s t r y a r e p re sen ted i n Appendix A. However, t h e pauc i ty of economic and t e c h n i c a l d a t a makes it d i f f i c u l t t o a s s e s s the e x t e n t t o which a p i a r i s t s r e l y on Echium a s a source o f p o l l e n o r n e c t a r .

Honey product ion: There is very l i t t l e o b j e c t i v e l y a s ses sed informat ion a v a i l a b l e . The V i c t o r i a n Government s tudy committee (Department o f Crown

Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978) e s t ima ted t h a t Echium p rov ides approximately 30 per c e n t o f t h e va lue o f the n a t i o n a l honey c rop (approximately $6m i n 1983-84). The Bureau has i n t e r p r e t e d t h i s 30 per c e n t t o inc lude those honeys based on pure Echium honey bu t t o exclude honey where Echium r e p r e s e n t s the minor p ropor t ion . More r e c e n t l y , t h e Federa ted Council o f A u s t r a l i a n A p i a r i s t s ' Assoc ia t ions has e s t ima ted t h a t pure Echium honey p rov ides about 10-15 per c e n t of t he va lue of t he n a t i o n a l honey c rop ( I A C 1985) . Data on A u s t r a l i a n product ion and e x p o r t s of honey f o r t he pe r iod 1978-79 t o 1983-84 a r e presented i n Table 2. On the b a s i s of t h e Federa ted Counci l of A u s t r a l i a n A p i a r i s t s ' Assoc ia t ions e s t i m a t e , Echium used a s the nec ta r source would have been r e spons ib l e f o r between $1.4m and $2.9~1 o f t h e annual g r o s s va lue o f l o c a l honey product ion over t hese y e a r s (IAC 1985) .

The assessment o f t h e va lue of Echium f o r honey product ion is complicated by the v a r i a b i l i t y of t h e Echium popu la t ion , both r e g i o n a l l y and over time ( s e e Appendix A) . Also, a s Echium honey i s used t o blend wi th o the r honeys t o produce honey s u i t e d t o s p e c i f i c e x p o r t markets , Echium may account f o r a l a r g e r p ropor t ion o f t he va lue of honey exported. The Bureau has no t been a b l e t o o b t a i n informat ion on t h i s l a t t e r a spec t .

P o l l e n value: Echium is a major source of s u i t a b l e p o l l e n and nec ta r f o r t h e sp r ing bui ldup o f bee numbers. Honey p roduc t ion l a t e r i n the year ( e s p e c i a l l y from euca lyp t s ) i s c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o the bee popula t ion . The use o f Echium p o l l e n has been desc r ibed i n Appendix A. There a r e no o b j e c t i v e l y a s ses sed d a t a a v a i l a b l e on the va lue o f Echium po l l en .

I n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n : Witnesses t o the r e c e n t IAC inqu i ry on the honey i n d u s t r y ind ica t ed t h a t t he e s t ima ted value of t he t o t a l p o l l i n a t i o n s e r v i c e s provided by commercial bees was between $loom and $400m ( I A C

Table 2: QUANTITY AND VALUE OF IXMESTIC PRODUCTION AND EXPORTS OF HONEY

Year

Domestic product ion ( a ) Exports

Value Q u a n t i t y Value (b) Quan t i ty ( fob )

( a ) Produced by a p i a r i s t s wi th 40 o r more beehives . ( b ) The ABS d e f i n e s t h e g r o s s value of product ion a s the va lue p laced on recorded product ion a t t h e wholesale p r i c e s r e a l i s e d i n the p r i n c i p a l markets.

Source: ABS (a ,b , c ) .

1984) . However, t hese f i g u r e s a r e based on t h e t o t a l va lue of a l l c rops t h a t b e n e f i t from p o l l i n a t i o n and ignore the va lue added of o the r f a c t o r s o f product ion . Also, the f i g u r e s r e £ l e c t t he i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n based on both Echium and non-Echium sources . The l a t t e r p o i n t is of p a r t i c u l a r s i g n i f i c a n c e , given the u n c e r t a i n t y o f t h e abovementioned d a t a regarding t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f Echium t o honey product ion and the honey indus t ry .

The BAE (1984) r epor t ed t h a t the c o s t o f commercial p o l l i n a t i o n s e r v i c e s were worth only about $0.6m, i n d i c a t i n g a lower l i m i t t o t he va lue o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n and scope f o r commercia l i sa t ion . O v e r a l l , t h e r e appears t o be a wide d ivergence i n the e s t i m a t e s of t he n e t b e n e f i t s o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n , thereby making it d i f f i c u l t , a t t h i s s t a g e , t o a s s e s s t h i s a s p e c t o f t he d e s i r a b i l i t y of the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium.

In a d d i t i o n , it should be noted t h a t a s i g n i f i c a n t p ropor t ion o f t h e va lue o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n s e r v i c e s does no t p r e s e n t l y accrue t o the honey indus t ry . Indeed, the c o s t of any r educ t ion i n i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n due t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l of Echium would be borne by cropping and l i v e s t o c k producers a s w e l l a s beekeepers.

l 3. Economic Aspects of Weed Con t ro l l l

3.1 D e f i n i t i o n s a d systems approach

Although 'weedss a r e not de f ined i n the B i o l o g i c a l Contro l A c t 1984, a u s e f u l d e f i n i t i o n h a s been provided by Wells (1974) , namely ' a s p e c i e s whose presence r e s u l t s i n a reduced economic o u t p u t of a s p e c i f i c system'. Menz and Longworth (1976) cons idered t h a t t h e ' s p e c i f i c system' should r e f e r t o the i n d i v i d u a l farm, s i n c e it is wi th in t h i s con tex t t h a t management d e c i s i o n s a r e made and can be eva lua ted .

The f a rmer ' s o b j e c t i v e is assumed t o be t h e maximisation of p r o f i t s s u b j e c t t o a s e t o f resources . While the e x i s t e n c e of weeds a f f e c t s t he way i n which farmers use t h e i r r e sources , weed c o n t r o l is no t t h e i r prime o b j e c t i v e (Auld, Menz and Medd 1979) . Weed e r a d i c a t i o n would be un l ike ly t o be the most economically r a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y i n most s i t u a t i o n s and the va lue of t he p l a n t which r e p l a c e s the weed should be cons idered i n a s s e s s i n g the economics o f weed c o n t r o l .

The appropr i a t e a n a l y t i c a l framework f o r cons ide r inq d e c i s i o n s on weed c o n t r o l from a n a t i o n a l welfare pe r spec t ive is presented i n s e c t i o n 4. Genera l ly , the s e l e c t i o n o f t h e a p p r o p r i a t e primary o b j e c t i v e and t h e adopt ion o f an approach which t a k e s account o f t he i n t e r a c t i o n s wi th in the environment a r e a s c e n t r a l t o n a t i o n a l welfare d e c i s i o n making a s they a r e a t t h e farm l e v e l . The primary o b j e c t i v e must be t o maximise s o c i a l we l f a re and not t o maximise c o n t r o l o f Echium.

3.2 Success and economic r e t u r n s from b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l

The types o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l a v a i l a b l e and t h e i r advantages a r e d i scussed i n Appendix B. I t is recognised t h a t the unique advantages a s s o c i a t e d wi th b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l i n some c i rcumstances provide a d i s t i n c t economic advantage and, where ' s u c c e s s f u l ' , t h e cos t -bene f i t r a t i o s can be ext remely high. For example, i n t he h igher r a i n f a l l and wheat-sheep a r e a s o f t he A u s t r a l i a n r u r a l s e c t o r , land va lues a r e high and t h e economic mot iva t ion f o r weed c o n t r o l i s a l s o high. However, i n t h e

c a s e i n 1880, when the l adyb i rd predator (Rodolia c a r d i v a l i n ) was i n t e n t i o n a l l y in t roduced t o c o n t r o l t he cottony-cushion s c a l e ( I c e r y a p u r c h u s i ) . An e s t ima ted t o t a l annua l d i r e c t and i n d i r e c t c o s t o f weeds i n A u s t r a l i a o f about $500m (Johnson 1981) and the environmental advantages a s s o c i a t e d wi th b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l provide a s t r o n g mot iva t ion t o examine the p o s s i b l y h igh r e t u r n s from b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l . I n Appendix C, a d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n of t he b i o l o g i c a l and non-bio logica l c o n t r o l o f Echium is p resen ted .

3 . 3 Government i n t e r v e n t i o n i n b i o l o g i c a l weed c o n t r o l

The reasons f o r government involvement i n weed c o n t r o l a r e p re sen ted i n Appendix D. D e t a i l s a s soc ia t ed wi th problems o f government i n t e r v e n t i o n through noxious p l a n t l e g i s l a t i o n a r e a l s o d i scussed the re . In p a r t i c u l a r , t h e r e a r e a number of reasons t o be l i eve t h a t c u r r e n t noxious p l a n t l e g i s l a t i o n and p r a c t i c e may n o t i n t e r n a l i s e a l l of t h e e x t e r n a l i t i e s a s s o c i a t e d wi th weed c o n t r o l , i nc lud ing the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium.

The c a s e f o r government i n t e r v e n t i o n a s s o c i a t e d wi th b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l can be argued on the fo l lowin? grounds.

(a) E x t e r n a l i t i e s

Henz e t a l . (1984) c la im t h a t , 'because i n d i v i d u a l s o r companies a r e unable t o a p p r o p r i a t e a l l of t h e b e n e f i t s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l , and because the b e n e f i t s accruing t o any one company o r i n d i v i d u a l a r e u n l i k e l y t o approach the c o s t s o f t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program', such programs shoul;! be funded o r c a r r i e d o u t by the Government. Th i s is the b a s i c ' pub l i c good' argument (Samuelson 1955) .

I n a d d i t i o n t o the p u b l i c good c h a r a c t e r istics of b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l , t h e r e a r e t h e impor tant e x t e r n a l i t i e s which bear on the c a s e f o r government in t e rven t ion . F i r s t , t h e r e l e a s e of agen t s may mean t h a t some i n d i v i d u a l s a r e a f f e c t e d adve r se ly through damage o f both t a r g e t and non-target spec ie s . That is, some i n t e r e s t s i n t h e community may value the presence o f Echium ( f o r example, some farmers and honey producers) and o t h e r s could be adve r se ly a f f e c t e d by c o n t r o l agen t s damaging o t h e r s p e c i e s o f use i n r u r a l and/or o t h e r forms o f product ion . Regarding non- target spec ie s , it is most u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e r e would be any group adve r se ly a f f e c t e d by the i n c i d e n t a l c o n t r o l of t he h e l i o t r o p e weed a s a r e s u l t o f t he b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium.

Second, a s i g n i f i c a n t e x t e r n a l i t y may stem from t h e i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n of commercial c rops a s s o c i a t e d wi th t h e ' a p i a r i s t s ' u se o f Echium a s a nec ta r and p o l l e n source. A s exp la ined i n Appendix A, t h e r e is no consensus on the na tu re of t h i s e x t e r n a l i t y . Some farmers b e l i e v e t h a t any b e n e f i t s t o t h e i r c rops and p a s t u r e s would be more than outweighed by t h e i r l o s s e s a s s o c i a t e d wi th a v igo rous ly growing, we l l -po l l ina t ed Echium s tand. Moreover, it is unclear whether t he s p e c i e s r ep lac ing Echium fol lowing i ts b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l would r e s u l t i n a h igher o r lower l e v e l o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n than t h a t c u r r e n t l y a s s o c i a t e d wi th Echium.

(b ) Cost economies

The arguments advanced i n Appendix D r e l a t i n g t o gene ra l weed c o n t r o l a r e a l s o a p p l i c a b l e t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l . I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e l i k e l i h o o d

t h a t t he market w i l l f a i l t o provide a s o c i a l l y adequate l e v e l of co-ordinat ion of weed c o n t r o l e f f o r t is a s i g n i f i c a n t reason f o r governments t o become involved.

( C ) I n s t i t u t i o n a l b a r r i e r s

T i s d e l l , Auld and Menz (1984a) h i g h l i g h t i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t s which a r e l i k e l y t o r e s u l t i n a l e s s than s o c i a l l y op t ima l use o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agen t s , 'even when b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l may be the l e a s t - c o s t method o f c o n t r o l from a s o c i a l s t a n d p o i n t ' . For example, it is necessary t o have a s t reamlined s e t of p a t e n t and r e l a t e d r e g u l a t i o n s which pe rmi t i n d i v i d u a l s involved i n b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l r e sea rch and development t o a p p r o p r i a t e b e n e f i t s from investment.

(d ) Informat ion

F i n a l l y , t h e market may f a i l t o provide f o r a s o c i a l l y d e s i r a b l e q u a n t i t y o f informat ion on b i o l o g i c a l weed c o n t r o l . Such informat ion is t y p i c a l l y expensive t o produce bu t r e l a t i v e l y inexpensive t o d i s t r i b u t e .

On the above grounds, Menz e t a l . (1984) and many o t h e r s recommend government involvement i n the l e g i s l a t i o n , funding and execut ion o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l programs.

4. Conceptual Framework f o r t he Ana lys i s

4.1 The g e n e r a l s o c i a l c o s t - b e n e f i t model

The Bureau 's economic a n a l y s i s focuses on two main i s sues . F i r s t is an assessment o f whether o r n o t A u s t r a l i a ' s n a t i o n a l income would be improved fo l lowing the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium ( s e e c l a u s e (1) of t h e IAC's terms o f r e f e r e n c e ) . This i s s u e is a ques t ion r e l a t e d t o economic e f f i c i e n c y , and a concep tua l framework f o r ana lys ing such e f f i c i e n c y i s sues is d i scussed b r i e f l y i n t h i s s e c t i o n . The second i s sue is an assessment o f t he na tu re and the d i s t r i b u t i o n of c o s t s and b e n e f i t s from the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program ( see c l a u s e s (2 ) ( a ) and (2) ( c ) of t h e IAC's terms o f r e fe rence ) ; d e t a i l s a s s o c i a t e d wi th t h i s i s s u e a r e d i scussed i n s e c t i o n s 4.2 and 4.3.

The r e source a l l o c a t i o n ques t ion posed by the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l of Echium can be desc r ibed b a s i c a l l y i n terms o f Coase ' s (1972) p r o p o s i t i o n s on s o c i a l choice . That is, t h e ques t ion the community needs t o answer wi th r e s p e c t t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium is: should those groups i n t h e community ( f o r example, c a t t l e producers i n h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s ) w i th an economic i n t e r e s t i n r e l e a s i n g b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agen t s be allowed t o d isadvantage o t h e r groups ( f o r example, honey producer S) wi th an economic incen t ive t o oppose b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l ? A l t e r n a t i v e l y , t h e ques t ion could be posed a s follows: should those groups i n the community who w i l l s u f f e r

l economic l o s s e s due t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium be allowed t o d isadvantage o t h e r s which may p o t e n t i a l l y b e n e f i t by persuading a u t h o r i t i e s not t o r e l e a s e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agen t s? Fundamentally, t h e i s sue t o be resolved is whether t h e community w i l l be b e t t e r o f f o v e r a l l wi th o r wi thout b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium.

I n o rde r t o addres s t h i s i s s u e , it is a p p r o p r i a t e t o make use of t h e gene ra l s o c i a l cos t -bene f i t model a s o u t l i n e d , f o r example, by P r e s t and Turvey (1965), Mishan (1971) and Layard (1972). T h i s g e n e r a l model is

concerned p r i m a r i l y wi th the ques t ion o f whether o r not a p a r t i c u l a r investment ( i n t h i s c a s e , i n the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium) w i l l r e s u l t i n increased community welfare . The model is employed f o r the purpose of a s ses s ing whether o r not t he economic r e t u r n s from such investments a r e a t t r a c t i v e from a s o c i a l viewpoint compared with a l t e r n a t i v e avenues fo r t h e use o f a v a i l a b l e r e sources . Such an assessment is conducted a t t he n a t i o n a l l e v e l because the b e n e f i t s and c o s t s f o r i nd iv idua l s w i th in r eg ions a r e not l i k e l y t o co inc ide wi th the b e n e f i t s and c o s t s of t h e n a t i o n a s a whole (Bradbury and Loasby 1977) .

A major imp l i ca t ion f o r ana lyses a s soc ia t ed wi th assessment o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l programs concerns t h e t iming of t h e cos t -bene f i t a n a l y s i s (Mishan 1971). The terms o f r e fe rence f o r t he c u r r e n t i n q u i r y assume t h a t t he assessment should he conducted given the a v a i l a b i l i t y of c o n t r o l agen t s ; t h a t is , cons ider ing c o s t s a s soc ia t ed with the development o f t he c o n t r o l agen t s a s ' sunk ' . Although ex p o s t o r e x a n t e cos t -bene f i t ana lyses r e q u i r e concep tua l ly the same informat ion , asking the ques t ion o f 'whether it would be s o c i a l l y d e s i r a b l e t o develop a b i o l o g i c a l agen t ' could p o t e n t i a l l y save s o c i e t y the c o s t o f development. Menz e t a l . (1984) e s t i m a t e t h a t t he development c o s t s of b i o l o g i c a l weed c o n t r o l programs may c o s t between $lm and $3m on average.

I n t h i s submission, no a t t empt is made t o conduct a f u l l cos t -bene f i t a n a l y s i s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l programs such a s t h a t ou t l i ned above. Rather , a t t e n t i o n is focused on a s i n g l e but , i n t h e Bureau 's opin ion, c r i t i c a l component o f t he o v e r a l l cost-benef it c a l c u l u s . That is, a t t e n t i o n is focused i n s e c t i o n 5 o f t h i s submission on the changes i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s t h a t would be necessary t o o f f s e t any l o s s e s incurred by the honey i n d u s t r y and p a s t o r a l i s t s i n lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s a s a r e s u l t of t he r e l e a s e of b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agents . The d e c i s i o n t o analyse t h e p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y component of the range of b e n e f i t s and c o s t s a s s o c i a t e d wi th b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l is based on p rev ious Bureau r e sea rch ( s e e Love, Blank, Buik and Williams 1982) , where it was found t h a t improvements i n pas tu re p r o d u c t i v i t y have the p o t e n t i a l t o provide some o f t he h i g h e s t r e t u r n s t o t h e g raz ing i n d u s t r y from amongst a range of p o t e n t i a l t echno log ica l improvement op t ions .

4.2 Schematic o u t l i n e of b e n e f i t s and c o s t s

I n t h i s s e c t i o n , t he inc idence o f b e n e f i t s and c o s t s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium is ou t l ined . A t e c h n i c a l l y s u c c e s s f u l b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program f o r Echium would most l i k e l y have the fo l lowing e f f e c t s on groups w i t h i n and o u t s i d e t h e r u r a l s e c t o r ( s e e Table 3 f o r a summary).

. The major a g r i c u l t u r a l b e n e f i c i a r i e s would inc lude farmers i n t h e h ighe r r a i n f a l l and more product ive a r e a s ( e s p e c i a l l y beef , sheep and d a i r y producers and c rop farmers t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t ) . Gains would be based on inc reases i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y and r educ t ions i n production c o s t s (and perhaps l i v e s t o c k m o r t a l i t y r a t e s ) .

. P a s t o r a l i s t s i n the lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s could l o s e i f the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program removed Echium from t h e i r p a s t u r e s and replaced it wi th p a s t u r e s p e c i e s o f lower p roduc t iv i ty . However, t h i s l o s s would depend c r i t i c a l l y on the degree o f ' success ' of t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program. I n a d d i t i o n , it is p o s s i b l e t h a t the ' s u c c e s s f u l ' implementation of a b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program could s i g n i f i c a n t l y inc rease t h e product ion of pasture-based r u r a l p roduc t s , thereby r a i s i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of lower

Table 3: POTENTIAL GAINERS AND LOSERS FROM THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF ECHIUM, AND ASSOCIATED DATA AVAILABILITY

I tem Confidence

Quan t i f i ed Value i n e s t i m a t e

P o t e n t i a l g a i n e r s Farmers i n h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s Yes ( a ) 4 750 (b ) Medium

( inc reased p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y , 800 (c) Medium lower c o n t r o l c o s t s )

Government agenc ie s r e spons ib l e f o r Yes ( a ) 120 (d) Medium weed c o n t r o l (lower c o n t r o l c o s t s )

Other r u r a l i n d u s t r i e s - h o r s e s No - cropping No Al l e rgy s u f f e r e r s No Domestic and ove r seas consumers of No

r u r a l p roduc t s , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e longer run

P o t e n t i a l l o s e r s Farmers i n lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s

(lowered p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y ) Primary producers - e s p e c i a l l y

i n Echium-f r ee a r e a s (supply response e f f e c t s )

Primary producers ( i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n )

Beekeepers - honey

- p o l l e n T o u r i s t s and some members

o f the community (lowered a e s t h e t i c va lue)

Y e s 2 080 ( e ) 1 400- 2 9 0 0 ( f )

No(g) NO

Med ium

Medium

( a ) S t a t i s t i c s not c o l l e c t e d on a co-ordinated ( s p a t i a l , temporal o r d e f i n i t i o n a l ) n a t i o n a l b a s i s . (b) 1978 V i c t o r i a n Government e s t i m a t e of t he p o t e n t i a l l o s s i n product ion t o the l i v e s t o c k i n d u s t r y i n north- e a s t e r n V i c t o r i a i n a year. (c) 1977 South A u s t r a l i a n Government e s t i m a t e o f t he maximum b e n e f i t t o p a s t u r e s under i d e a l c i rcumstances . (d) 1983-84 V i c t o r i a n Government h e r b i c i d e c o s t s f o r c o n t r o l o f Echium. Included the v a l u e o f h e r b i c i d e s so ld by t h e Government, t he va lue used by t h e Government on Crown land and t h e va lue of h e r b i c i d e provided by the Government b u t app l i ed p r i v a t e l y . (e) 1977 South A u s t r a l i a n Government e s t i m a t e s o f t he maximum l o s s t o the honey indus t ry . ( f ) 1978-79 t o 1983-84 - annual va lue of Echium t o l o c a l honey producers. (g ) 1977 South A u s t r a l i a n Government e s t i m a t e of p o l l e n supplements was 50c per h ive a week, and the c o s t of the sugar supplement was 20c per h i v e a week. I t was assumed t h a t supplementary f eed ing may have been necessary f o r s i x weeks.

world p r i c e s and farm-gate u n i t r e t u r n s fo r t h e s e products . While no a n a l y s i s of t h i s i s sue is p resen ted i n t h i s submission, it could be expected t h a t terms o f t r a d e e f f e c t s r e s u l t i n g from the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium a r e most l i k e l y t o be of minor importance.

. Beekeepers would be adverse ly a f f e c t e d by a d e c l i n e i n the product ion of honey based on Echium i f a l t e r n a t i v e sources o f p o l l e n and nec ta r could n o t be e s t a b l i s h e d a t comparable c o s t l e v e l s . Beekeepers would a l s o need t o f i n d an a l t e r n a t i v e source o f p o l l e n and nec ta r e a r l y i n t h e sp r ing i n o rde r t o b u i l d up the bee popu la t ion in the h i v e s fo r honey product ion l a t e r i n the season (based on e u c a l y p t s ) . F u r t h e r , some r u r a l producers could be adve r se ly a f f e c t e d i f t h e r e were a d e c l i n e i n the l e v e l of i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n o f t h e i r c rops and p a s t u r e s .

. The we l fa re of those in the t o u r i s t i n d u s t r y could be reduced i f i n t e n s e s t ands o f Echium were c o n t r o l l e d .

. Government weed c o n t r o l agenc ie s would g a i n from the reduced need f o r c o n t r o l and the consequent lower c o s t s .

. The h e a l t h o f those people wi th a l l e r g i e s a s s o c i a t e d wi th Echium would be improved.

. F i n a l l y , e s p e c i a l l y i n the long run, g iven t h e world supply and demand e l a s t i c i t i e s f o r r u r a l commd i t i e s , domestic and overseas consumers could a l s o be b e n e f i c i a r i e s of a b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program ( s e e Emerson and P l a t o 1975; Vere, Sinden and Carnpbell 1980; Edwards and F reeba i rn 1982).

4 . 3 Es t ima tes o f b e n e f i t s and c o s t s and missing d a t a

A summary of the abovement ioned g a i n e r s and l o s e r s from b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium is presented i n Table 3 . I n a d d i t i o n , Table 3 c o n t a i n s informat ion on a v a i l a b l e e s t i m a t e s of the b e n e f i t s and c o s t s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium, toge the r with the Bureau's assessment o f t he degree o f confidence t h a t can be a t t r i b u t e d t o those e s t i m a t e s .

Overa l l , t h e r e con t inues t o be a l i m i t e d q u a n t i t y of t e c h n i c a l and economic informat ion , a t the n a t i o n a l l e v e l , necessary f o r the e v a l u a t i o n o f b i o l o g i c a l and o t h e r c o n t r o l programs f o r Echium. I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e Bureau has searched unsuccess fu l ly f o r informat ion from f i e l d experiments which r e l a t e t he popula t ion d e n s i t y o f Echium t o pas tu re and l i v e s t o c k p r o d u c t i v i t y . Such informat ion would i d e a l l y be a v a i l a b l e on a r e g i o n a l b a s i s and r e f l e c t t he dynamics o f t h e Echium environment both be fo re and a f t e r b i o l o g i c a l and o t h e r forms o f c o n t r o l .

F i e l d t r i a l exper imenta l informat ion is a l s o r equ i r ed t o he lp untangle the r e a l n u t r i t i o n a l and t o x i c i t y e f f e c t s o f Echium and t o determine t h e i r s e n s i t i v i t y t o managerial p r a c t i c e s and environmental f a c t o r s . Fu r the r informat ion is needed on the e f f e c t s o f Echium on humans, f o r example, on a l l e r g i c r e a c t i o n s and on the e f f e c t s of Echium-based products on humans and on its value a s a t o u r i s t a t t r a c t i o n .

P a s t s t u d i e s of Echium have a l s o produced l i t t l e information on t r a d i t i o n a l o r b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l c o s t s . Some d a t a on t r a d i t i o n a l c o n t r o l c o s t s a r e a v a i l a b l e ( f o r example, s e e the V i c t o r i a n Government s tudy 1978). However, t r a d i t i o n a l c o n t r o l c o s t s f o r government weed c o n t r o l agenc ie s and p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l s a r e requi red on a co-ordinated and

c o n s i s t e n t l y de f ined b a s i s from a l l t hose a f f e c t e d by Echium f o r a n a t i o n a l c o s t - b e n e f i t a p p r a i s a l .

I n the c a s e o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l , informat ion on the development, r e l e a s e and maintenance o f a l t e r n a t i v e programs would u s u a l l y be r equ i r ed . c o s t s a s s o c i a t e d wi th the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium a r e a l r eady much h ighe r than t h e average c o s t f i g u r e s o f Slm t o $3m sugges ted by Menz e t a l . (1984), due t o s i g n i f i c a n t a r b i t r a t i o n , c o n c i l i a t i o n and development costs, though t h e s e c o s t s a r e no t r e l e v a n t t o a c u r r e n t c o s t - b e n e f i t a p p r a i s a l a s they a r e l a r g e l y sunk. However, t h e ' s u c c e s s ' o f e x i s t i n g c o n t r o l agen t s may depend upon an augmentative s t y l e o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program ( s e e Appendix B) , thereby c r e a t i n g the need f o r informat ion on any r e c u r r e n t c o s t s . Nor a r e t h e r e s u f f i c i e n t d a t a a v a i l a b l e on t h e l i k e l y ' success1 o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l a g e n t s and s p e c i e s l i k e l y t o r e p l a c e Echium fol lowing its c o n t r o l . The l a t t e r f a c t o r has been found t o b e impor tant on o t h e r occas ions , such a s fo l lowing t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f s k e l e t o n weed.

~ n f o r m a t i o n r e l a t e d t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y ' s requi rements f o r Echium is p a r t i c u l a r l y s c a n t . For example, informat ion on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between v e g e t a t i v e growth and honey and p o l l e n product ion is unava i l ab le . I f t he b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium were o f on ly l i m i t e d success , t h e r e could be s u f f i c i e n t Echium remaining f o r a p i a r i s t s . I n p a r t i c u l a r , i f a p i a r i s t s used the remaining Echium i n con junc t ion wi th inc reased use o f e x i s t i n g a l t e r n a t i v e p o l l e n and nec ta r sou rces and an agent c o n t r o l i n s e c t i c i d e sp ray program, t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium program might have on ly a

' l i m i t e d e f f e c t on t h e honey indus t ry .

F i n a l l y , t h e a c t u a l va lue o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n o f commercial c r o p s t o t h e A u s t r a l i a n r u r a l s e c t o r , based on a p i a r i s t s 1 use o f Echium, remains a most unce r t a in v a r i a b l e , a s expla ined i n s e c t i o n 2.3. Informat ion r e l a t e d t o t h e p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y e f f e c t s o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n by bees working Echium is a l s o requi red .

5. Analys is o f B e n e f i t s and Costs

5 .1 I n t r o d u c t i o n

Throughout t h i s submission t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f improved p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y due t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium h a s been emphasised. Echium has i ts major impact on t h e g raz ing i n d u s t r i e s by a f f e c t i n g t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y o f both improved and n a t i v e p a s t u r e s and, consequent ly , t h e i r c a r r y i n g c a p a c i t i e s and l i v e s t o c k p r o d u c t i v i t y . I n t h i s s e c t i o n , t h e impact o f t he b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y is examined, t oge the r wi th l o s s e s l i k e l y t o be incu r red by t h e honey indus t ry . More s p e c i f i c a l l y , a r ev i sed and updated v e r s i o n o f t h e Bureau 's Regional Programming Model is used t o e s t i m a t e the g a i n s i n p r o d u c t i v i t y i n h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s necessary t o a t l e a s t o f f s e t any l o s s e s , due t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l , i n o u t p u t from the honey i n d u s t r y and the g raz ing i n d u s t r y i n lower r a i n f a l l a r eas .

The g e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e Regional Programming Model have been desc r ibed i n Longmire, Brideoake, Blanks and H a l l (1979). T h i s c u r r e n t a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e model is s i m i l a r t o the Menz e t a l . (1984) assessment o f t h e p o t e n t i a l b e n e f i t s from c l a s s i c a l weed c o n t r o l o f in t roduced weeds i n n a t u r a l i s e d p a s t u r e s wi th in the southern wheat-sheep a r e a s o f A u s t r a l i a and a s tudy undertaken by Love e t a l . (1982).

5.2 The BAE Regional Programming Model

The Regional Programming Model is a l a r g e model of Aus t r a l i an broadacre a g r i c u l t u r e , which is solved us ing a l i n e a r programming a lgor i thm. The model enab le s t h e s imula t ion o f a wide range of sheep, c a t t l e and cropping a c t i v i t i e s which a r e r e g i o n a l l y d isaggregated . The t e c h n i c a l product ion c o e f f i c i e n t s and the p a s t u r e and o the r resource c o n s t r a i n t s a r e de r ived from BAE farm survey d a t a and a r e s p e c i f i e d on a r e g i o n a l b a s i s . The model c o n t a i n s t h i r t e e n r eg ions ( s e e the map on page 8 ) , each of which is approximately homogeneous i n terms o f c l ima te a s it a f f e c t s a g r i c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s . P r i c e e s t i m a t e s f o r t he model a r e obta ined from t h e BAE c o m d i t y p r i c e p r o j e c t i o n s . The o b j e c t i v e func t ion opt imised i n t h e model is t o t a l n e t farm income i n an ' ave rage ' ( i n terms of p r i c e s and c l ima te ) year . The model i n c l u d e s a l lowances f o r f lows of c a p i t a l , s tock and feed between r eg ions , and i n c r e a s e s i n f lock and herd s i z e over t i m e .

The model i nc ludes only broadacre a g r i c u l t u r a l i n d u s t r i e s and has no f a c i l i t y f o r simultaneous a n a l y s i s o f product ion and marketing a c t i v i t i e s a s s o c i a t e d with the honey indus t ry . Fu r the r , t h e r eg iona l programming model is b a s i c a l l y s u i t e d t o comparative s t a t i c ana lyses and is no t e n t i r e l y s u i t e d t o dynamic processes . T h i s l a t t e r c o n s t r a i n t is of re levance to an a n a l y s i s of t h e p o t e n t i a l e f f e c t s of t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium, which has dynamic a s p e c t s a s s o c i a t e d wi th the spread and seasona l v a r i a b i l i t y o f Echium, the behaviour of l i v e s t o c k popu la t ions and the bui ldup o f t h e c o n t r o l a g e n t popula t ion . However, i n t h e absence o f t e c h n i c a l d e t a i l s o f these dynamic p rocesses , t h e Regional Programming Model is adequate f o r t he simple a n a l y s i s which is desc r ibed in the fo l lowing sec t ions .

I n t h i s a n a l y s i s , t h e s p a t i a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f Echium i n A u s t r a l i a is based on informat ion provided by t h e CSIRO Div i s ion o f Entomology and is superimposed on a map o f A u s t r a l i a i n d i c a t i n g t h e boundaries used fo r the Regional Programming Model (see t h e map on page 8) .

The b e s t a v a i l a b l e informat ion i n d i c a t e s t h a t a systems approach' t o Echium c o n t r o l , i nc lud ing the use of a l l p r e v i o u s l y used c o n t r o l techniques , is most l i k e l y t o be necessary i n con junc t ion with a b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program (see Appendix C) . Consequently, t he n e t farm income r e s u l t s from t h e fo l lowing ana lyses t ake i n t o account t he inc rease i n c o s t s due t o h ighe r product ion ( f o r example, i npu t c o s t s , marketing c o s t s etc.) , inc lud ing normal weed c o n t r o l c o s t s . However, t h e a n a l y s i s does n o t a l low f o r the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and o p e r a t i o n a l c o s t s of a b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program.

5.3 Break-even a n a l y s i s

The c e n t r a l i s s u e addressed i n t h i s s e c t i o n is the pas tu re p r o d u c t i v i t y ga in necessary i n h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s t o o f f s e t any l o s s e s incu r red by the honey i n d u s t r y and lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s o f t he graz ing i n d u s t r y due t o the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium. A s mentioned e a r l i e r , t h i s a n a l y s i s is based on the Bureau's Regional Programming Model. The a n a l y s i s was conducted i n two s t a g e s . F i r s t , t he c o s t s imposed on t h e honey i n d u s t r y and t h e lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s of t h e g raz ing i n d u s t r i e s by the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium were e s t ima ted , us ing s e n s i t i v i t y a n a l y s i s where appropr i a t e . Second, t h e s e c o s t s were used a s a b a s i s fo r e s t ima t ing the changes i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s o f

t h e g r a z i n g i n d u s t r y necessary t o achieve n e t s o c i a l b e n e f i t s . It should be noted t h a t t h i s break-even a n a l y s i s is concerned on ly w i th t h e c o s t s and b e n e f i t s gene ra t ed by the impact o f t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y and t h e honey indus t ry . No e f f o r t was made t o account f o r t he impact of t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium on t h e t o u r i s t i n d u s t r y o r human h e a l t h problems, a l though t h e s e f a c t o r s may l a r g e l y o f f s e t one another i n a c o s t - b e n e f i t a p p r a i s a l . Nor was any r e c o g n i t i o n g iven to any b e n e f i t s acc ru ing to domest ic o r o v e r s e a s consumers of p r o d u c t s of which supply is a f f e c t e d by t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium o r t o terms o f t r a d e e f f e c t s , b u t t h e s e e f f e c t s may w e l l be smal l . F i n a l l y , no a t t e n t i o n was g iven to t h e c o s t s o f t h e b i o l o g i c a l program i t s e l f , some o f which a r e sunk ( f o r example, c o s t s of developing c o n t r o l a g e n t s ) and o t h e r s which a r e y e t t o be i ncu r r ed ( f o r example, any r e c u r r e n t c o s t s a s s o c i a t e d wi th augmentat ive r e l e a s e s o f a g e n t s ) .

For the f i r s t s t a g e of t he a n a l y s i s , a range o f s i m u l a t i o n s which r e f l e c t va ry ing op in ions on the l i k e l y e f f e c t s o f t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s of t h e g r a z i n g i n d u s t r y were conducted. Lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s were d e f i n e d f i r s t a s t h e Bureau ' s P a s t o r a l and Wheat-Sheep Zones (see s c e n a r i o 1 below) and second a s t h e Bureau ' s P a s t o r a l Zone only (see s c e n a r i o 2 below). T h i s s p e c i f i c a t i o n r e f l e c t s t h e Bureau's judgment t h a t Echium is more l i k e l y t o b e c l a s s i f i e d a s a weed i n t h e High R a i n f a l l Zone and a s a r e l a t i v e l y v a l u a b l e fodder s p e c i e s i n t h e P a s t o r a l Zone. However, Echium's weed s t a t u s i n t h e Wheat-Sheep Zone remains a major a r e a o f u n c e r t a i n t y . Consequently, t h e fo l lowing s c e n a r i o s , which e x p l i c i t l y acknowledge t h i s u n c e r t a i n t y , were des igned t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e assessment of t h e t rade-off between p o t e n t i a l b e n e f i t s and c o s t s .

. S c e n a r i o 1

I n t h i s s cena r io , it was assumed t h a t t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium would have a nega t ive e f f e c t on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s , which a r e de f ined t o inc lude t h e Bureau ' s P a s t o r a l and Wheat-Sheep Zones.

. Scena r io 2

I n t h i s s c e n a r i o , it was assumed t h a t t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium would lower p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e P a s t o r a l Zone only .

For both s c e n a r i o s 1 and 2, t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s of 1 p e r c e n t and 10 p e r c e n t dec reases i n t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y o f n a t i v e and improved p a s t u r e s were examined. These d e c l i n e s i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y a r e based on the work o f Auld, Menz and Monaghan (1979) , Vere and Auld (1982) and Menz, Auld and T i s d e l l (1984). Auld e t a l . h i g h l i g h t t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s a s s o c i a t e d wi th e s t i m a t i n g p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y e f f e c t s based on weed d e n s i t y and d i s t r i b u t i o n informat ion . Vere and Auld sugges t t h a t an upper l i m i t t o t h e p o t e n t i a l i n c r e a s e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y due t o weed c o n t r o l i n a broad geograph ica l r eg ion may be a s h igh a s 10 p e r cen t . Menz e t a l . sugges t t h a t , ' i n p r a c t i c e a s i n g l e weed is u n l i k e l y t o reduce p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y by g r e a t e r than 1 p e r c e n t a c r o s s t h e whole a r e a ' .

I n e s t i m a t i n g t h e c o s t s t h a t t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium is l i k e l y t o impose on t h e honey i n d u s t r y , t h e Bureau examined t h r e e p o s s i b i l i t i e s based, i n p a r t , on s e v e r a l s t u d i e s r e f e r r e d t o i n s e c t i o n 2. These a r e o u t l i n e d on t h e fo l lowing page.

. N e t c o s t of the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium is a maximum of $2.5m.

- This inc ludes an e s t ima te o f t he va lue o f honey produced d i r e c t l y and i n d i r e c t l y due t o the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f Echium.

. Net c o s t o f t he b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium is a maximum of $7m.

- This inc ludes an e s t i m a t e o f the va lue o f honey produced d i r e c t l y and i n d i r e c t l y due t o t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f Echium ($2.5m) and an e s t i m a t e o f t he va lue of t h e m l l e n (S4.5rn). A n e t c o s t o f S7m t o . . - ,

t h e honey i n d u s t r y can be regarded a s g iven t h a t the g r o s s va lue o f honey p roduc t ion , a s mentioned i n s e c t i o n 2.3, was - around $20m i n 1983-84.

. N e t c o s t of the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium is $22m

Th i s e s t i m a t e inc ludes an e s t i m a t e of t he va lue of honey produced d i r e c t l y and i n d i r e c t l y due t o the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f Echium ($2.5m), an e s t ima te o f t he va lue o f p o l l e n ($4.5m) and an e s t i m a t e of t he va lue o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n ($15rn). It should be noted t h a t only a sma l l p ropor t ion o f t h e i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n e s t ima te would p r e s e n t l y accrue t o the honey indus t ry . Inc lus ion of i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n a s a c o s t t o the honey i n d u s t r y assumes t h a t beekeepers can p o t e n t i a l l y be f u l l y rewarded f o r t h i s s e rv i ce . Cur ren t ly , t h e c o s t of any r educ t ion in i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n would be borne l a r g e l y by cropping and, t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t , beekeeping and l i v e s t o c k i n t e r e s t s .

. Scena r io 3

The above t h r e e p o s s i b i l i t i e s were included i n the f i r s t s t a g e of the a n a l y s i s a s a t h i r d scena r io . Scena r io 3 inc ludes the n e t c o s t s of b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l of Echium t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y on ly , and is based on the assumption t h a t t he r e l e a s e o f b i o l o g i c a l agen t s has no n e t e f f e c t on t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y o f p a s t u r e s i n the Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l zones. Consequently, the c o s t s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium were es t imated under c i rcumstances whereby b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agen t s , i n conjunct ion with o t h e r weed c o n t r o l methods, on ly changed the n e t p r o d u c t i v i t y o f p a s t u r e s i n the High R a i n f a l l Zone. Such an outcome is one p o s s i b i l i t y being cons idered by t h e CSIRO (E.S. Del fosse , CSIRO, p e r s o n a l communication, January 1985) .

R e s u l t s o f t h e f i r s t s t a g e o f t he a n a l y s i s a r e presented i n Table 4. The s c e n a r i o s (rows) and ne t c o s t s t o the honey i n d u s t r y o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l (columns) correspond t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n o u t l i n e d i n the immediately preceding paragraphs.

In spec t ion o f t h e e s t i m a t e s i n Table 4 i n d i c a t e s t h a t a 1 per cen t d e c l i n e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e P a s t o r a l and Wheat-Sheep Zones, t oge the r with a $2.5m annual n e t l o s s t o the honey i n d u s t r y due t o the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echiurn, o t h e r t h i n g s he ld c o n s t a n t , would c o s t t he community around $14m a year. The e s t ima ted annual c o s t would inc rease t o $33m i n the event t h a t t he c o s t t o the honey i n d u s t r y was $22m r a t h e r than $2.5m. Should the d e c l i n e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y be 10 per c e n t r a t h e r than l per c e n t i n t h e P a s t o r a l and Wheat-Sheep Zones, t he combined e s t ima ted annual c o s t o f the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium, s o f a r a s the honey and lower r a i n f a l l graz ing i n d u s t r i e s a r e concerned, would inc rease t o between $116m and $135m.

Table 4: COMBINED ANNUAL NET COSTS TO THE LOWER RAINFALL GRAZING INDUSTRY AND THE HONEY INDUSTRY OF THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF ECHIUM

Combined annual n e t c o s t

Low n e t c o s t t o Medium n e t c o s t High n e t c o s t t o Change i n p a s t u r e honey i n d u s t r y t o honey i n d u s t r y honey i n d u s t r y p r o d u c t i v i t y ($2.5m) ($7m) ($22m) ( a )

Scena r io l (b) F a l l o f 1 per c e n t F a l l o f 10 per c e n t 116 120 135

Scena r io 2 (c) F a l l o f 1 per c e n t F a l l o f 10 per c e n t

Scena r io 3 (d ) No n e t e f f e c t

( a ) N e t c o s t t o honey i n d u s t r y i n t h i s column inc ludes an e s t i m a t e o f the va lue o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n ($15m), t he b e n e f i t s o f which p r e s e n t l y accrue t o the cropping and l i v e s t o c k i n d u s t r i e s a s w e l l a s beekeepers. (b ) Reduced p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Bureau 's Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l Zones. (c) Reduced p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Bureau 's P a s t o r a l Zone. (d ) No n e t e f f e c t on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Bureau 's Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l Zone.

Fu r the r i n spec t ion of Table 4 sugges t s t h a t i f t h e d e c l i n e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y due t o the r e l e a s e of t he c o n t r o l agen t s were conf ined t o t h e P a s t o r a l Zone ( s c e n a r i o 2 ) , then t h e combined c o s t s t o t h e honey and lower r a i n f a l l g raz ing i n d u s t r i e s , o t h e r t h i n g s he ld c o n s t a n t , would b e cons ide rab ly lower. Under s c e n a r i o 2, a d e c l i n e of 1 pe r c e n t i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e P a s t o r a l Zone on ly , t oge the r wi th the l o s s e s t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y , was e s t ima ted t o cost the community between $3m and $23m. In f a c t , t he major l o s s e s under t h i s s c e n a r i o ( i n c o n t r a s t t o s c e n a r i o 1) would be t h e l o s s e s incurred by the honey indus t ry . The l o s s e s t o t h e honey indus t ry on ly due t o b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l (with t h e c a v e a t on i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n d i scussed e a r l i e r and a t foo tno te ( a ) ) a r e desc r ibed i n s c e n a r i o 3.

The r e s u l t s p re sen ted i n Table 4 form t h e b a s i s of t he second s t a g e of t he break-even a n a l y s i s , t h a t is, t o e s t i m a t e the p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y ga ins i n t h e h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s necessary t o o f f s e t t he l o s s e s desc r ibed above. Examination o f Tables 5 and 6 i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e break-even changes i n pas tu re p r o d u c t i v i t y vary s i g n i f i c a n t l y depending on the magnitude of t he c o s t t o the honey i n d u s t r y o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l and whether t he dec reases i n p r o d u c t i v i t y occurred i n both the P a s t o r a l and Wheat-Sheep Zones ( s c e n a r i o 1) o r i n t h e P a s t o r a l Zone on ly ( s c e n a r i o 2 ) .

In Table 5 t h e i n c r e a s e s i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y r equ i r ed i n t h e Bureau 's High R a i n f a l l Zone t o o f f s e t l o s s e s i n t h e Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l Zones and t h e honey i n d u s t r y a r e p re sen ted . For s c e n a r i o 1, it is es t ima ted t h a t p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n c r e a s e s ranging between 3 per c e n t

and 32 per c e n t would be necessary i n t h e High R a i n f a l l Zone t o o f f s e t p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y l o s s e s i n the o t h e r zones and t h e n e t c o s t s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l t o t h e honey indus t ry . Should the nega t ive impact o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l agen t s be conf ined t o t h e Bureau 's P a s t o r a l Zone and t h e honey indus t ry , t h e corresponding i n c r e a s e s i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y r equ i r ed i n t h e Bureau 's High R a i n f a l l Zone would be cons ide rab ly lower. For example, i n t he c a s e o f a 1 per c e n t d e c l i n e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e P a s t o r a l Zone and a $7m n e t c o s t t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y due t o t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l of Echium, it would be necessary t o achieve an e s t ima ted 1 .8 per c e n t g a i n i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e High R a i n f a l l Zone i n o rde r t o o b t a i n n e t s o c i a l b e n e f i t s .

Of p a r t i c u l a r s i g n i f i c a n c e i n the r e s u l t s r epor t ed i n Table 5 is t h e q u e s t i o n o f whether o r no t b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium would r e s u l t i n a n e t dec rease i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Wheat-Sheep Zone. I f t h e c o n t r o l o f Echium d i d lower p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n the Wheat-Sheep Zone ( s c e n a r i o l ) , then the p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n c r e a s e s i n t h e High R a i n f a l l Zone, necessary t o o f f s e t t h e s e and the l o s s e s t o the honey indus t ry , may no t be achievable . I n p a r t i c u l a r , a r educ t ion i n p a s t u r e p r o d a c t i v i t y o f anything g r e a t e r than 2 per c e n t i n the Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l Zones would r e q u i r e a p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y g a i n i n t h e High R a i n f a l l Zone o f a t l e a s t 7 per c e n t , which is toward the upper end o r o u t s i d e the 0-10 per c e n t range d i scussed e a r l i e r and noted by Vere and Auld (1982). However, i f t he c o n t r o l o f Echium d i d not a f f e c t p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n the Wheat-Sheep Zone and only r e s u l t e d i n l o s s e s i n t h e P a s t o r a l Zone of t h e

Table 5: PERCENTAGE INCREASES I N PASTURE PRODUCTIVITY NECESSARY I N THE HIGH RAINFALL ZONE TO OFFSET LOSSES I N THE LOWER RAINFALL GRAZING INDUSTRY AND THE NET COSTS TO THE HONEY INDUSTRY OF THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF ECHIUM

Break-even i n c r e a s e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y

Low n e t c o s t t o Medium n e t c o s t High n e t c o s t t o Change i n p a s t u r e honey i n d u s t r y t o honey i n d u s t r y honey indus t ry p r o d u c t i v i t y ($2.5m) ($7m) ($22m) ( a )

Scena r io l (b) F a l l o f 1 per c e n t 3.3 F a l l o f 10 per c e n t 27.5

Scena r io 2 (c) F a l l o f 1 per c e n t 0.7 F a l l o f 10 per c e n t 2.0

Scena r io 3 (d ) No n e t e f f e c t

( a ) Net c o s t t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y i n t h i s column inc ludes an es t imate of the va lue o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n ($15m), t h e b e n e f i t s o f which p r e s e n t l y accrue t o the cropping and l i v e s t o c k i n d u s t r i e s a s wel l a s beekeepers. (b ) Reduced p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n Bureau 's Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l Zones. (c) Reduced p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Bureau's P a s t o r a l Zone. (d ) No n e t e f f e c t on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Bureau's Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l Zones.

l i v e s t o c k i n d u s t r y (Scena r io 2) and the o v e r a l l honey i n d u s t r y , then t h e neces sa ry i n c r e a s e s i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e High R a i n f a l l Zone appear t o be f e a s i b l e i n t h a t they a r e w i th in t h e range noted by Vere and Auld. Furthermore, i f t h e c o n t r o l o f Echium had no n e t a f f e c t on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n e i t h e r t h e Wheat-Sheep o r P a s t o r a l Zones, t hen t h e i n c r e a s e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e High R a i n f a l l Zone would need t o be h igh enough t o o f f s e t any c o s t s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y . Examination o f t h e bottom l i n e o f Table 5 i n d i c a t e s t h a t t he p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n c r e a s e s i n t h e Bureau ' s High R a i n f a l l Zone, neces sa ry t o o f f s e t l o s s e s t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y , a r e a l s o w i t h i n t h e 0-10 per c e n t range r epo r t ed by Vere and Auld.

A f u r t h e r p o s s i b i l i t y is t h a t t he b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium could i n c r e a s e r a t h e r than dec rease p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Wheat-Sheep zone. under t h e s e c i r cums tances t h e r e l e v a n t i s s u e would be t h e s i z e o f t h e p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n c r e a s e i n t h e Wheat-Sheep and High R a i n f a l l Zones necessary t o a t l e a s t o f f s e t any l o s s e s i n t h e P a s t o r a l Zone l i v e s t o c k i n d u s t r y and t h e o v e r a l l honey i n d u s t r y . Such a s i t u a t i o n is addres sed i n Tab le 6 below.

The key f e a t u r e o f Table 6 is t h a t r e l a t i v e l y low i n c r e a s e s i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y would be r equ i r ed i n t h e h ighe r r a i n f a l l a r e a s ( t h a t is, t h e Wheat-Sheep and P a s t o r a l Zones) i n o rde r t o o f f s e t l o s s e s t o t h e P a s t o r a l Zone and c o s t s t o t h e honey indus t ry . For example, a 1 .9 pe r c e n t i n c r e a s e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y would be r equ i r ed i n t he h igher r a i n f a l l a r e a s t o o f f s e t a 10 per c e n t d e c l i n e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e P a s t o r a l Zone and a $22m n e t l o s s t o t he honey i n d u s t r y ( i n c l u d i n g a $15m l o s s i n i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n which is c u r r e n t l y b e n e f i t i n g cropping and l i v e s t o c k i n d u s t r i e s a s w e l l a s beekeepe r s ) . Such a g a i n i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y would be e q u i v a l e n t t o o b t a i n i n g a 2.2 pe r c e n t i n c r e a s e i n n a t i o n a l wool ou tpu t , a 0.5 p e r c e n t i n c r e a s e i n n a t i o n a l sheep meat o u t p u t and a 0.9 per c e n t i n c r e a s e i n t h e g r o s s v a l u e o f n a t i o n a l beef p roduc t ion .

Table 6: PERCENTAGE INCREASES I N PASTURE PRODUCTIVITY NECESSARY I N THE HIGHER XAINFALL AREAS TO OFFSET LOSSES I N THE PASTORAL ZONE AND NET COSTS TO THE HONEY INDUSTRY OF THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF ECHIUM(a)

Break-even i n c r e a s e i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y

Low n e t c o s t t o Medium n e t cost High n e t c o s t t o Change i n p a s t u r e honey i n d u s t r y t o honey i n d u s t r y honey i n d u s t r y p r o d u c t i v i t y ($2.5m) ($7m) ($22~1) (b )

S c e n a r i o 4 ( C )

F a l l o f 1 pe r c e n t 0.2 F a l l o f 10 per c e n t 0.6

( a ) Higher r a i n f a l l a r e a s a r e de f ined t o i nc lude t h e Bureau ' s Wheat-Sheep and High R a i n f a l l Zones. (b) Net c o s t t o honey i n d u s t r y i n t h i s column i n c l u d e s an e s t i m a t e o f t he va lue o f i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n ($15m) , t h e b e n e f i t s o f which p r e s e n t l y acc rue t o t h e cropping and l i v e s t o c k i n d u s t r i e s a s w e l l a s beekeepers. (c) Reduced p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Bureau ' s P a s t o r a l Zone.

O v e r a l l i n spec t ion of t he break-even e s t i m a t e s presented i n t h i s s e c t i o n sugges t s t h a t the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f ~ c h i u m would most l i k e l y y i e l d n e t b e n e f i t s t o s o c i e t y , p a r t i c u l a r l y i f the n e t c o s t t o the honey i n d u s t r y were l e s s than $7m o r t h e r e were some n e t g a i n i n p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e Wheat-Sheep Zone. A n e t l o s s of $7m t o the honey i n d u s t r y can be regarded a s ve ry l a r g e , g iven t h a t t he g r o s s va lue of honey product ion i n 1983-84 was around $20m. A t t h i s s t a g e , it is not p o s s i b l e f o r t h e Bureau t o be any more s p e c i f i c about the n e t b e n e f i t s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium. However, it is a n t i c i p a t e d t h a t f u r t h e r s c i e n t i f i c evidence necessary t o i s o l a t e t h e most r e l e v a n t r e s u l t s r epor t ed i n Tables 4, 5 and 6 w i l l come be fo re the Commission dur ing the course of the c u r r e n t inqui ry . Once aga in , it should be emphasised t h a t t h e r e s u l t s of t h e break-even a n a l y s i s r epor t ed in t h i s s e c t i o n a r e concerned only wi th the impact o f the b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium on p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y and the honey indus t ry . The i3ureau has no t q u a n t i f i e d the impact o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l on the t o u r i s t i ndus t ry , human h e a l t h problems o r consumers o r any remaining c o s t s of t he b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program i t s e l f , a l though some q u a l i t a t i v e d i s c u s s i o n of t h e ~ e l i k e l y e f f e c t s is p resen ted e a r l i e r i n t h e t e x t and i n the appendixes.

6. Compensation

A s d i scussed i n s e c t i o n 4.1, cos t -bene f i t a n a l y s i s is concerned s o l e l y wi th economic e f f i c i e n c y . It is no t concerned with ques t ions r e l a t i n g t o income d i s t r i b u t i o n i n t h e community. F u r t h e r , a n a l y s i s i n s e c t i o n 5 i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e income d i s t r i b u t i o n impl i ca t ions of t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium could involve m i l l i o n s o f d o l l a r s . More impor tant ly , any assessment o f economic e f f i c i e n c y is c o n d i t i o n a l on an i n i t i a l a l l o c a t i o n o f r e sources o r an i n i t i a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f weal th , bu t t h e e f f e c t of a successful' b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program w i l l change t h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n . I t is p o s s i b l e t h a t any change i n t h a t d i s t r i b u t i o n could b r ing p r e s s u r e s fo r adjustment and c l a ims fo r compensation.

I n a n t i c i p a t i o n of income r e d i s t r i b u t i o n e f f e c t s , t h e B i o l o g i c a l Con t ro l B i l l 1984, c l a u s e 38, 3 ( b ) i nc ludes t h e op t ion t h a t commissioners o f i n q u i r i e s be r equ i r ed t o de termine 'whether a s s i s t a n c e should be given t o any persons i f a d e c l a r a t i o n is made i n r e s p e c t o f t hese organisms' . The terms of r e fe rence a s soc ia t ed wi th t h i s i nqu i ry , c l a u s e 2 ( a ) and 2 (c) , d i r e c t the commissioners t o de termine the i d e n t i t y and n a t u r e of those l i k e l y t o be adve r se ly a f f e c t e d by a b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program and t o e v a l u a t e the na tu re and method o f a s s i s t a n c e which may be d e s i r a b l e . While t h e ques t ion o f whether o r not compensation should be made a v a i l a b l e is e s s e n t i a l l y a problem f o r t he p o l i t i c a l and l e g a l p rocesses t o r e so lve , a b r i e f corment can be made on the a p p l i c a t i o n o f the compensation concept. I n p a r t i c u l a r , c r i t i c a l v a r i a b l e s a s s o c i a t e d with t h e p r a c t i c a l and economic f e a s i b i l i t y o f compensation schemes a r e d iscussed.

I f t he p o l i t i c a l and l e g a l p rocesses accep t a c a s e f o r compensation, t h e r e w i l l be the r e l a t e d t a s k s o f d e f i n i n g , a s s e s s i n g and admin i s t e r ing a compensation scheme. The c o s t o f under taking these t a s k s is l i k e l y t o be inf luenced s i g n i f i c a n t l y by the d i f f i c u l t y o r o therwise o f i d e n t i f y i n g p rope r ty r i g h t s and spec i f ic g r i evances . I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h i s c o s t may be unacceptably high i n the case of t he b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l of Echium a s p r o p e r t y r i g h t s t o Echium a r e poor ly def ined and t h e r e may be p o t e n t i a l f o r in tending p a r t i c i p a n t s i n a compensation scheme t o a d j u s t t h e i r management s t r a t e g i e s t o become e l i g i b l e f o r payment.

Appendix A

THE ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF ECHIUM: AGRONOMIC DETAILS

A . l S i g n i f i c a n c e i n P a s t u r e s

A-1.1 Pas tu re p r o d u c t i v i t y

C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s desc r ibed i n P igg in (19-2) make Echium a ve ry s u c c e s s f u l s p e c i e s i n terms o f its c a p a c i t y t o crowd o u t , suppres s , o r smother o the r p a s t u r e s p e c i e s t h a t some p a s t o r a l i s t s cons ide r t o be va luab le . Observat ions i n h igher r a i n f a l l p a s t u r e s i n d i c a t e t h a t Echium r e p l a c e s sub te r r anean c love r r a t h e r than g r a s s e s and hence reduces s o i l n i t r o g e n (P igg in 1982) . Echium is u s u a l l y most p r o l i f i c and compe t i t i ve i n improved p a s t u r e s with l i g h t g raz ing o r i n untended a r e a s such a s roads ides . However, s tock management p r a c t i c e s have a marked e f f e c t on t h e Echium popula t ion . Those paddocks grazed heav i ly by sheep a r e r e l a t i v e l y weed f r e e compared wi th ungrazed paddocks o r those wi thout any o t h e r form o f weed c o n t r o l .

Parsons (1973) and P igg in (1976 and 1982) sugges t t h a t Echium's h igh d r y mat ter p r o d u c t i v i t y , e s p e c i a l l y i n autumn and winter when p roduc t ion o f o t h e r pas tu re s p e c i e s is o f t e n low, makes it a u s e f u l fo rage spec ie s . I n p a r t i c u l a r , p a s t o r a l i s t s i n low r a i n f a l l a r e a s c la im t h a t Echium p rov ides va luab le fodder f o r t h e i r l i v e s t o c k and t h a t e r a d i c a t i o n would involve replacement by p l a n t s o f a lower fodder va lue and drought r e s i s t a n c e .

A c c e p t a b i l i t y and p a l a t a b i l i t y o f Echium depend on the ma tu r i ty o f t h e p l a n t , environmental c o n d i t i o n s , t he o t h e r s p e c i e s p r e s e n t i n t h e p a s t u r e , and t h e type o f g r a z i n g animals and t h e i r r e c e n t g raz ing h i s t o r y (Piggin 1982). Genera l ly , t he p l a n t is most p a l a t a b l e when young and r a p i d l y growing. The o l d e r growth is rough and h a i r y and l e s s accep tab le t o s tock. Producers i n h igh r a i n f a l l a r e a s e s p e c i a l l y cons ide r Echium t o be an i n f e r i o r pas tu re s p e c i e s because it seeds and d r i e s o f f i n t h e s p r i n g , leaving a r e s idue o f low p a l a t a b i l i t y f o r t h e summer and autumn, when f eed s u p p l i e s a r e c r i t i c a l . The low h e i g h t o f t h e p l a n t a t i t s mst p a l a t a b l e s t a g e o f growth makes Echium most e a s i l y e a t e n by sheep and l e s s f r e q u e n t l y e a t e n by c a t t l e o r ho r ses (P igg in 1 9 2 ) .

It is f r e q u e n t l y claimed t h a t Echium has a lower n u t r i t i v e va lue t h a n o t h e r spec ie s . P igg in (1977b) compared Echium and subter ranean c love r us ing the parameters o f percentage d r y m a t t e r , i n v i t r o d i g e s t i b i l i t y and n i t r o g e n con ten t . H e found t h a t t h e two p l a n t s gave s i m i l a r r e s u l t s a t any t i m e o f the yea r , i nc lud ing when t h e m a t e r i a l was dead. P igg in (197733) concluded t h a t Echium is a u s e f u l forage s p e c i e s because it is h igh ly p roduc t ive , is r e a d i l y ea t en by s tock and h a s a r e l a t i v e l y h igh n u t r i e n t va lue . Although t h e r e may have been some inadequacies i n P i g g i n ' s s c i e n t i f i c method, obse rva t ions over t he y e a r s by many i n d i v i d u a l s tend to conf i rm P i g g i n ' s conc lus ions about t he use fu lness of Echium a s a forage p l a n t (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978).

I f it is a problem, lower p a s t u r e p r o d u c t i v i t y due t o Echium should be r e f l e c t e d i n lower l i v e s t o c k p r o d u c t i v i t y . Culvenor, Jago, Pe te r son , Smith, Payne, Campbell, Edgarm and Frahn (1984) experimented on Merinos i n southern New South Wales and the r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e d a lower body weight and wool growth over t he exper imenta t ion pe r iod f o r sheep on Echium p a s t u r e

compared wi th c o n t r o l animals on Echium-free pas tu re . However, t h e r e a r e r e l a t i v e l y s p a r s e d a t a on f i e l d exper iments o f t h i s type .

I n V i c t o r i a , evidence from t h e A u s t r a l i a n Wool Corpora t ion sugges t s t h a t t h e 'hurry' f r u i t o f Echium does no t add s i g n i f i c a n t l y t o t h e vege tab le f a u l t i n f l e e c e s produced i n a r e a s wi th high d e n s i t i e s of Echium i n the p a s t u r e s (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978).

A.1.2 T o x i c i t y

It is w e l l recognised t h a t , l i k e o t h e r members of t h e fami ly Boraginaceae, Echium c o n t a i n s p y r r o l i z i d i n e a l k a l o i d s ( E v e r i s t 1981). The t o t a l amount o f a l k a l o i d v a r i e s between d i s t r i c t s , y e a r s , ma tu r i ty of t h e p l a n t , s o i l t ype , s o i l f e r t i l i t y and c l i m a t e . Alkalo id poisoning g e n e r a l l y r e s u l t s i n c h r o n i c e f f e c t s which a r e expressed a s l o s s of body weight, loss of milk o r wool y i e l d and f e r t i l i t y problems. N u t r i t i v e and t o x i c i t y e f f e c t s on p a s t u r e and l i v e s t o c k p r o d u c t i v i t y a r e probably s imul taneous and r e s u l t s from f i e l d t r i a l s which s e p a r a t e the e f f e c t s a r e not r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e .

The e f f e c t s o f Echium t o x i c i t y on animals d i f f e r between spec ie s . Monogastr ics, such a s p i g s and ho r ses , a r e thought t o be more s u s c e p t i b l e than ruminants, i n which t h e a l k a l o i d s a r e p a r t i a l l y broken down i n t h e rumen (P igg in 1982). However, p i g s , ho r ses and c a t t l e r a r e l y e a t t he p l a n t and t h u s a r e seldom a f f e c t e d . Older sheep appear t o be t h e most s eve re ly a f f e - t e d .

Also, f i e l d obse rva t ions of Echium t o x i c i t y may be a f f e c t e d by t o x i c i t y e f f e c t s of o t h e r p l a n t s i n t h e obse rva t ion a r e a . He l io t rope , ano the r member o f t h e Boraginaceae fami ly which has h igh p y r r o l i z i d i n e a l k a l o i d l e v e l s and which, due t o its summer growth on o therwise b a r e fa l lowed a r e a s , is h igh ly t o x i c , f r e q u e n t l y grows i n t h e same a r e a s a s Echium (Culvenor e t a l . 1984) .

The t o x i c i t y o f Echium h a s been r epor t ed by many au tho r s (Bu l l , Dick, Keast and Edgar 1956; S t . George-Grambauer and Rac 1962; Seaman 1978; Culvenor et a l . 1984). Culvenor et a l . r e p o r t f i e l d obse rva t ions of l o s s e s o f ho r ses , p i g s and sheep, and s e v e r a l accounts of sheep m o r t a l i t y a r e g iven i n the l i t e r a t u r e .

Seaman (1978) and Dellow and Seaman (1985) r e p o r t t h a t Echium t o x i c i t y is the most s i g n i f i c a n t cause o f a l k a l o i d poisoning i n h o r s e s i n New South Wales. They c l a im t h a t ho r ses a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y s e n s i t i v e t o the p l a n t and t h a t t h e r e is a h igh c o r r e l a t i o n between t h e i n t e n s i t y of occurrence o f Echium and t h e number o f confirmed c a s e s o f a l k a l o i d poisoning i n h o r s e s throughout t h e S t a t e .

However, r e p o r t s from the Bureau o f Animal Heal th , meat i n spec to r s and r e g i o n a l a b a t t o i r s s u p e r v i s o r s (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978) i n d i c a t e t h a t , whi le t h e number of l i v e r s r e j e c t e d a t a b a t t o i r s r ece iv ing s tock from Echium p a s t u r e s inc reased dur ing s p r i n g each yea r , t h e r e was no s p e c i f i c evidence t o a t t r i b u t e t h i s t o Echium. I n any c a s e , t h e s e l o s s e s were u s u a l l y sma l l , f o r example, abou t 1 0 per c e n t o f l i v e r s were condemned i n s p r i n g and of t hese only 10 pe r c e n t were condemned because o f a l k a l o i d damage, p o s s i b l y from Echium.

Echium has been e x t e n s i v e l y grazed i n many l o c a l i t i e s and seasons and, i n p r a c t i c e , t h e number o f animal d e a t h s has not been s i g n i f i c a n t (Pearce 1972; P igg in 1982) . Tox ic i ty e f f e c t s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o l o s s o f l i v e s t o c k p r o d u c t i v i t y can be minimised wi th a p p r o p r i a t e p a s t u r e and l i v e s t o c k management and do n o t appear t o be o f p r a c t i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e under normal farming cond i t ions .

~ . 1 . 3 Seed p roduc t ion

~ e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of t he A u s t r a l i a n Seed Producer S Fede ra t ion have r epor t ed problems caused by Echium i n p a s t u r e s grown f o r seed i n New South Wales, V i c t o r i a and South A u s t r a l i a . The incu r s ion of Echium i n t o a r e a s which a r e used f o r p a s t u r e seed p roduc t ion i n c r e a s e s t h e c o s t s o f p roduc t ion a s s o c i a t e d wi th spraying and c u l t i v a t i o n . I n V i c t o r i a , t h e r e is no t o l e r a n c e f o r Echium seed i n c e r t i f i e d p a s t u r e seed and producers may dec ide no t t o h a r v e s t seed from p a s t u r e s con ta in ing Echium. Echium is o f p a r t i c u l a r concern t o producers o f sub te r r anean c love r seed a s seeds o f t he two s p e c i e s a r e produced a t t h e same time and a r e d i f f i c u l t t o s e p a r a t e because they a r e of s i m i l a r s i z e and co lou r (Orchard 1948) . The presence o f a l a r g e volume of woody Echium stems i n c r e a s e s the l e v e l o f t r a s h and compl ica tes ha rves t ing o f seeds such a s sub te r r anean c l o v e r . F i n a l l y , Echium growth i n some a r e a s h a s reduced the a r e a sown t o improved p a s t u r e s and hence the demand f o r c e r t i f i e d p a s t u r e seed (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978).

A.2 S i g n i f i c a n c e i n Crops

Echium growth i n c rops may a f f e c t t he product ion , ha rves t ing and q u a l i t y of t he c e r e a l g r a i n and, hence, t he c o s t s o f product ion and r e t u r n s t o growers.

A.2.1 product ion

F i n a l seed-bed p r e p a r a t i o n is b e s t l e f t u n t i l most annual weeds have germinated and have been k i l l e d by c u l t i v a t i o n and pre-emergent he rb ic ides . Echium germinates over an extended pe r iod and may cause delayed sowing which can r e s u l t i n a y i e l d pena l ty and may p rec lude sowing a l t o g e t h e r i n a Wet season. Add i t iona l c u l t i v a t i o n s may be r equ i r ed f o r seed-bed p r e p a r a t i o n where Echium is p r o l i f i c (MeadLy 1956) and post-emergent h e r b i c i d e s may be needed du r ing the growing pe r iod of t h e crop, wi th r e s u l t a n t i n c r e a s e s i n c o s t s o f product ion . However, a f t e r sowing, which normally occur s around May, Echium germinat ion is suppressed by lower tempera tures .

Echium may occur i n c rops i f seed-bed p r e p a r a t i o n is poor and sowing is e a r l y , r e s u l t i n g i n a l o s s o f y i e l d due t o i n t e r s p e c i e s compet i t ion . The compe t i t i ve e f f e c t s of Echium on c r o p s a r e poor ly documented and have probably no t been eva lua ted (P igg in 1982) . Also, where Echium r e p l a c e s sub te r r anean c l o v e r i n t h e pre-crop p a s t u r e , lower l e v e l s of s o i l n i t r o g e n may r e s u l t i n lower y i e l d s from the c e r e a l c rop which fo l lows (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978) .

A.2.2 Q u a l i t y of harves ted c rops

Cerea l g r a i n q u a l i t y may be a f f e c t e d when r a i n f a l l occu r s l a t e i n the g r a i n r ipen ing pe r iod and p a r t s of t h e g reen Echium p l a n t a r e ha rves t ed wi th the g r a i n . Green m a t e r i a l is n o t accep tab le i n g r a i n d e l i v e r e d t o

g r a i n handl ing a u t h o r i t i e s and contaminated g r a i n must be d r i e d and p o s s i b l y c leaned.

In normal seasons , some Echium seeds a r e l i k e l y t o occur in c e r e a l g r a i n s and a r e d i f f i c u l t t o remove completely. Cost p e n a l t i e s , u s u a l l y a s s o c i a t e d wi th the p r i c e rece ived, may occur ( f o r example, dockages on wheat, d i s c o u n t s on o a t s o r r e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f b a r l e y ) . The A u s t r a l i a n Wheat Board p e n a l i s e s farmers about 5 pe r c e n t i f t h e i r g r a i n is d e l i v e r e d wi th more than t h r e e Echium seeds per h a l f l i t r e o f g r a i n (IAC 1985) . However, g r a i n contaminat ion of t h i s type does n o t appear t o be a major problem (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978) . Echium is n o t s p e c i f i e d a s a p r o h i b i t e d weed seed i n wheat d e l i v e r e d t o Aus t r a l i an s i l o s (P igg in 1982).

For some producers , mature Echium p l a n t mat ter is unacceptable i n hay a s the d ry woody stems a r e o f a low p a l a t a b i l i t y and t h e r e i s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f spreading Echium seed. T h i s l a t t e r a s p e c t is exacerbated when t h e r e is a demand f o r fodder du r ing p e r i o d s o f drought (Davidson 1984). Although t h e r e a r e l i m i t e d d a t a t o s u b s t a n t i a t e t hese arguments, some producers obv ious ly incur h ighe r c o s t s of hay product ion and lower r e t u r n s from r e s t r i c t e d markets a s a r e s u l t of t h e presence of Echium. F u r t h e r , machinery used f o r c u l t i v a t i o n , ha rves t ing and haymaking i n a r e a s wi th high d e n s i t i e s o f Echium may r e q u i r e c o s t l y c l ean ing before use i n Echium-free a r e a s t o avoid spreading Echium seed. A s a consequence, machinery from Echium-infested a r e a s may f a c e a lower demand i n Echium-free a reas .

Weed c o n t r o l f o r annual broad-leaf weeds, i nc lud ing Echium, i n c e r e a l c rops is a common p r a c t i c e i n most S t a t e s . Normally, Echium is des t royed by c u l t i v a t i o n and it is only r a r e l y t h a t spraying s o l e l y f o r Echium is p r a c t i s e d . Consequently, t he t rend toward increased cropping a r e a and decreased p a s t u r e over t he p a s t decade (Watson, Reynolds, C o l l i n s and Hunter 1983) , o t h e r t h i n g s being equa l , would have improved c o n t r o l o f Echium. P igg in (1982) sugges ted t h a t Echium may become a more important c rop weed i f minimum t i l l a g e techniques o f c rop e s t ab l i shmen t cont inue t o be adopted more widely , w i th a requirement f o r t he development of s p e c i a l h e r b i c i d e recommendations.

A.3 The Honey I n d u s t r y

There a r e a number o f p l a n t s growing i n t h e p a s t u r e s o f south-eas tern A u s t r a l i a n farmland which a r e o f use t o a p i a r i s t s . Of t h e s e , Echium is by f a r t he most impor tant (P igg in 1982; Br iggs 1984). Echium has been worked commercially by a p i a r i s t s s i n c e the t u r n o f t he cen tu ry and the growth i n t h e honey i n d u s t r y has followed its spread (Br iggs 1984) . The a r e a s most heav i ly and c o n s i s t e n t l y worked by a p i a r i s t s i n south-eas tern A u s t r a l i a i nc lude the R ive r ina and c e n t r a l r eg ions of New South Wales and the mid-north o f South A u s t r a l i a . Comparatively l i t t l e Echium is worked a s a honey source i n V i c t o r i a a s it is g e n e r a l l y too s p a r s e l y d i s t r i b u t e d (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978).

Following t h e i n a c t i v e winter pe r iod , bees emerge and feed on a number o f d i f f e r e n t s p e c i e s o f f lower ing p l a n t s dur ing t h e s p r i n g , summer and autumn. Echium has an important r o l e i n t h e honey i n d u s t r y because it f lowers i n October and November, e a r l y i n the a p i a r i s t s ' p roduc t ion season, and p rov ides a h igh l e v e l of h igh p r o t e i n p o l l e n and nec ta r . ~ o t h o f t hese a r e impor tant n u t r i t i o n a l requi rements f o r t h e rapid bui ldup i n

honey bee popu la t ion . The g o d flow o f nec ta r is the b a s i s o f high-grade honey product ion .

A.3.1 Po l l en product ion

The amount and q u a l i t y of p o l l e n produced by Echium is probably of even g r e a t e r importance t o a p i a r i s t s than the product ion o f honey from t h e p l a n t . Although euca lyp t s p e c i e s provide the main honey source fo r A u s t r a l i a n a p i a r i s t s , they a r e g r o s s l y d e f i c i e n t i n p o l l e n and only a few have f lower ing p e r i o d s c o i n c i d e n t a l wi th Echium. Eucalypts a r e a l s o u n r e l i a b l e i n f lowering h a b i t s and may produce an accep tab le a l t e r n a t i v e source t o Echium f o r p o l l e n i n only one year o u t o f four (Br iggs 1984) . The amount o f euca lyp tus honey which is produced is c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f s u i t a b l e n e c t a r and p o l l e n s u p p l i e s f o r i nc reas ing t h e sp r ing bu i ldup o f bee numbers. Without Echium a s a source o f p o l l e n , a p i a r i s t s would most l i k e l y have t o use a l t e r n a t i v e sou rces ( f o r example, a r t i f i c i a l p o l l e n ) , wi th r e l a t e d i n c r e a s e s i n c o s t o f product ion .

The h igh demand f o r p o l l e n produced by Echium is based l a r g e l y on its r e l a t i v e l y h igh crude p r o t e i n con ten t . The Commercial A p i a r i s t s ' Assoc ia t ion of South A u s t r a l i a r e p o r t s a 38 p e r c e n t p r o t e i n con ten t , while r e sea rch a t t h e Bendigo Col lege o f Advanced Education found t h a t d r y Echium p o l l e n has a 31.4 pe r c e n t p r o t e i n c o n t e n t (IAC 1985) .

A.3.2 Honey product ion

Echium produces premium grade honey, l i g h t i n co lou r wi th a f l avour and aroma o f s p e c i a l appeal t o some ove r seas buyers ( f o r example, i n Japan and America) who a r e ave r se t o euca lyp t f lavoured honey and who p r e f e r white honey co lou r g rad ing . Consequently, Echium honey is keenly sought on ove r seas markets and is e x t e n s i v e l y used t o upgrade o the r honey by blending f o r bo th l o c a l and ove r seas markets.

In some y e a r s , when o the r c rop p o t e n t i a l s do no t m a t e r i a l i s e , Echium is the on ly sp r ing c rop a v a i l a b l e t o south-eas tern A u s t r a l i a n a p i a r i s t s and, i n good seasons , provides an impor tant e a r l y sou rce o f cash f low f o r producers .

Ech ium' s importance t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y v a r i e s between yea r s , depending on the germinat ion o f Echium seeds , c l i m a t e du r ing its growing season, e f f e c t s o f Echium c o n t r o l and t h e e x t e n t t o which a l t e r n a t i v e sources o f nec ta r a r e a v a i l a b l e (IAC 1985) . Over t i m e , Echium's importance t o t h e honey i n d u s t r y has increased a s it has become m r e widespread and a s land c l e a r i n g has removed the n a t i v e vege ta t ion . F i n a l l y , t h e r e is a l s o wide r e g i o n a l v a r i a t i o n i n Echium' S importance.

There a r e a number of o t h e r p l a n t s growing i n t h e p a s t u r e s o f south-eas tern A u s t r a l i a n farmland which a r e o f commercial s i g n i f i c a n c e t o the honey indus t ry and a u s e f u l suppor t t o f e r a l bee popu la t ions - f o r example, c l o v e r s , t r e f o i l s , capeweed, onion weed, t h i s t l e s , l uce rne , Erodium s p e c i e s and r y e g r a s s and, more r e c e n t l y , some o i l s e e d s c rops . None is c u r r e n t l y a s impor tant a s Echium.

A.3.3 I n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n

P o l l i n a t i o n is requ i r ed by v i r t u a l l y a l l t ypes of f l o r a bu t adequate p o l l i n a t i o n is p a r t i c u l a r l y impor tant f o r c e r t a i n c rops t o maximise y i e l d s

(IAC 1984) . P o l l i n a t i o n occur s i n a number of ways, such a s by the wind borne d i s t r i b u t i o n o f p o l l e n and through the feeding h a b i t s of a v a r i e t y o f i n s e c t s and animals , o f which bees - both commercial honey-bees anA f e r a l bees - a r e commonly regarded a s being t h e most important (Br iggs 1984).

Echium p rov ides an important l i n k i n a cha in of f a c t o r s which ma in ta ins a v i a b l e honey i n d u s t r y and s imul taneously p rov ides an i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t ion s e r v i c e t o farmers growing mmmerc i a l c rops which r e q u i r e an e x t e r n a l p o l l i n a t i o n agen t ( f o r example, c l o v e r s , l uce rnes and melons). Echium is one of t he few s p e c i e s a v a i l a b l e t o provide a honey source s u f f i c i e n t l y l a r g e t o suppor t a r e s i d e n t f e r a l honey-bee popu la t ion which a l s o provides an important i n c i d e n t a l p o l l i n a t i o n s e r v i c e on a reasonably permanent b a s i s . However, some landowners c l a im t h a t t he use o f Echium a s a source by a p i a r i s t s i n c r e a s e s the spread o f Echium due t o t h e inc reased e f f i c i e n c y o f p o l l i n a t i o n . F u r t h e r , t he f a c t t h a t a p i a r i s t s c o n c e n t r a t e on Echium i n the sp r ing , may i n f a c t reduce the p o l l i n a t i o n s e r v i c e a v a i l a b l e f o r commercial c rops r e q u i r i n g p o l l i n a t i o n .

A.4 Other Aspects o f Importance

A. 4.1 Environmental impact

As recorded i n P igg in (1982) , t h e compe t i t i ve n a t u r e of Echium is such t h a t it f l o u r i s h e s i n a r e a s o f minimal c u l t u r a l d i s t u r b a n c e . The r educ t ion o f n a t i v e s p e c i e s i n n a t i o n a l pa rks and on p u b l i c l ands is a problem exacerbated by the r e l u c t a n c e t o use h e r b i c i d e s i n t h e s e a r e a s because o f t h e i r e f f e c t on n a t i v e vege ta t ion . AlYernative means of c o n t r o l a r e g e n e r a l l y more time consuming and more expensive.

Reports were submitted t o the V i c t o r i a n Government Study (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978) which claimed t h a t Echium may harbour i n s e c t p e s t s . I t has been sugges ted t h a t its f lower ing h a b i t may provide a h a b i t a t f o r t h r i p s , a l though t h e r e is l i t t l e information on t h i s s u b j e c t .

A.4.2 Tourism

Echium was i n i t i a l l y in t roduced t o A u s t r a l i a a s a h o r t i c u l t u r a l o r garden s p e c i e s because of its c o l o u r f u l f lowers . The p l a n t is regarded a s an a t t r a c t i v e 'wi ldf lower ' by the t o u r i s t i ndus t ry , e s p e c i a l l y i n the Adelaide H i l l s and F l i n d e r s Ranges i n South A u s t r a l i a (Smith and White 1970; Bur t 1978) .

A.4.3 Human h e a l t h

Many p l a n t s growing i n A u s t r a l i a may have adverse medical imp l i ca t ions f o r some of t h e popula t ion . Echium has two main e f f e c t s .

. Echium p o l l e n causes hayfever and eye and n a s a l i r r i t a t i o n . Also, t h e f i n e b r i s t l e s which occur on a l l p a r t s o f the p l a n t may cause s k i n i r r i t a t i o n on c l o s e con tac t . I t has been r epor t ed t h a t about 3 per c e n t of t h e t o t a l popu la t ion have a ' s i g n i f i c a n t ' a l l e r g y t o Echium (Department o f Crown Lands and Survey e t a l . 1978).

. Reports have been made t h a t human consumption of Echium-based p roduc t s con ta in ing p y r r o l i z i d i n e a l k a l o i d s may have t o x i c e f f e c t s (Piggin 1982).

Appendix B

TYPES OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AND THEIR ADVANTAGES

Genera l ly , b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l is l i k e l y t o p l a y an ever- increas ing r o l e i n p e s t management i n A u s t r a l i a (Bowers 1982). While it may n o t s u r p a s s t r a d i t i o n a l c o n t r o l through p e s t i c i d e s , b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l has c e r t a i n unique advantages.

B i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l can be c l a s s i f i e d i n t o t h r e e b a s i c types ( T i s d e l l , Auld and Menz 1984a) a s fo l lows.

C l a s s i c a l b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l , which invo lves t h e impor t a t ion and r e l e a s e of a n a t u r a l enemy o f t he p e s t to be c o n t r o l l e d . A s t h e popu la t ion of t h e c o n t r o l agen t i n c r e a s e s , it sp reads and sea rches f o r its t a r g e t organism, e v e n t u a l l y becoming self -sus ta in ing and i n long-term equ i l ib r ium wi th t h e h o s t p e s t .

Augmentative c o n t r o l , which r e£ e r s t o t h e s i t u a t i o n where t h e c o n t r o l agent is unable t o s u s t a i n i t s e l f i n t h e long term i n a l l a r e a s occupied by the t a r g e t organism wi thout a d d i t i o n a l ' s p o t ' r e l e a s e s o f t h e c o n t r o l agent .

Inundat ive b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l (u se of mycoherbicides) , which r e f e r s t o t h e r e l e a s e o f c o n t r o l agen t s which a r e no t s e l f - s u s t a i n i n q and which have a very shor t - te rm a c t i v e per iod s i m i l a r t o most he rb ic ides . Although the t o p i c o f c u r r e n t r e sea rch , inundat ive c o n t r o l agen t s have not been used i n A u s t r a l i a y e t bu t two funga l pathogens have been r e l eased i n America (Menz, Auld and T i s d e l l 1984).

The fo l lowing c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l a g e n t s ensure t h e i r i nc reased use.

. They a r e s e l f - s u s t a i n i n g and, consequent ly , a r e most s u i t a b l e f o r t h e c o n t r o l o f p e r e n n i a l weeds, which p rov ide a permanent h o s t (Menz e t a l . 1984).

. They a r e a b l e t o spread t o o the rwise i n a c c e s s i b l e a reas . However, a s i n the c a s e o f Echium, t h i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c may n o t be apprec i a t ed by a l l members o f t h e community . . They a r e a b l e t o ' s ea rch ' f o r t he t a r g e t organism wi thout a need fo r human i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .

. They have a h igh f ixed c o s t o f p roduc t ion and very low v a r i a b l e c o s t s and, consequently, provide an economic c o n t r o l i n s i t u a t i o n s o f widespread low-density weed i n f e s t a t i o n s ( T i s d e l l , Auld and Menz 1984b). T h i s a t t r i b u t e is most u s e f u l i n v a s t a r e a s of t h e A u s t r a l i a n r u r a l s e c t o r where t h e land is of r e l a t i v e l y low a g r i c u l t u r a l va lue (Menz e t a l . 1984).

. Unlike the case wi th chemical c o n t r o l s (Muir 1978) , most b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l t a r g e t organisms do no t appear to develop a r e s i s t a n c e t o t h e c o n t r o l agent . I f t h e c o n t r o l t a r g e t does develop a r e s i s t a n c e , t h e r e is scope f o r t h e c o n t r o l agen t t o adapt .

. Most b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l a g e n t s a r e thoroughly screened t o ensu re they a r e s p e c i f i c t o a t a r g e t organism. Unfor tunate ly , where e r r o r s occur ,

Tisde l l e t a l . (1984a) suggest t ha t the consequences of t h i s type of 'environmental sp i l lover ' may be l e s s reversible than chemical or c u l t u r a l mishaps, a s the control agent is self-perpetuating.

. Auld, Menz and Monaghan (1978/1979) suggest tha t biological cont ro l automatically co-ordinates the simultaneous control of a t a rge t organism over a wide area. Similar co-ordination by a weed control agency i s usual ly administrat ively d i f f i c u l t and expensive (Menz e t a l . 1984) . . Biological cont ro l is generally not toxic or pol lut ing. This may reduce handling cos t s and enable appl icat ions of inundative control agents c loser to harvest dates (T i sde l l e t a l . 198413).

. Biological control agents are generally compatible with other means of cont ro l , except some pest ic ides. Consequently, in the majority of cases , it is desirable (and may even be e s sen t i a l , a s in the case of Echium) t o in tegra te b io log ica l cont ro l with other cont ro l methods (Waterhouse 1981).

The capabi l i ty of b io log ica l control techniques t o y ie ld equivalent or g rea te r net re turns t o users compared with current weed control p r ac t i ce s is only a necessary but not su f f i c i en t condition for the tsuccesst of a program. T i sde l l e t a l . (1984a) suggest tha t appropriate user knowledge associated with biological cont ro l 'appears t o be poorly d i s t r ibu ted and undersupplied from soc i e ty ' s point of view'. Consequently, biological cont ro l programs may f a i l due t o appl icat ion problems.

'Successt is l i ke ly t o be grea tes t where (Reichelderfer 1984):

- damage by the ta rge t weed is perceived by po t en t i a l users a s an economic problem;

- the biological cont ro l agent is technical ly e f fec t ive ;

- the e f f e c t of the b io logica l control agent on the weed is rapid and r e l i ab l e ;

- the ta rge t weed is a s ingly occurring major weed problem on high-value land but causes low to moderate damage per individual weed;

- current methods for cont ro l of the t a rge t weed a re e i t he r unavailable or t he i r d i r e c t and ind i rec t cos t s a r e high;

- users ' d i r e c t and opportunity cos t s of employing the biological control s t ra tegy a re low; and

- the in te r re la t ionsh ip of these cha rac t e r i s t i c s r e s u l t s in higher net re turns t o the use of biological cont ro l than t o avai lable a l t e rna t i ve controls .

Appendix C

BIOLOGICAC AND NOX-BIOLOGICAL CONTROLS OF ECHIUM

C.l B i o l o g i c a l Con t ro l o f Echium --

The CSIRO has conducted hos t -speci f i c i t y t e s t s on e i g h t biologi .ca1 c o n t r o l agen t s f o r Echium. The fo l lowing four have been c l e a r e d by t h e Commonwealth Department o f H e a l t h ' s p l a n t q u a r a n t i n e a u t h o r i t i e s fo r f i e l d r e l e a s e .

. D i a l e c t i c a s c h a l a r i e l l a - a leaf-mining moth which was used in exper imenta l f i e l d r e l e a s e s i n 1980.

. Phy toec i a coe ru le scens - a stem-bor ing b e e t l e .

. Long i t a r sus e c h i i and Long i t a r sus aeneus - both o f which a r e --p-

l e a f - e a t i n g and r o o t - e a t i n g f l ea -bee t l e s .

Four o t h e r i n s e c t s , t h e Echium i n s e c t s D ic ty l a e c h i i and Dic ty l a n a s s a t a , and the two weevi ls Ceutorhynchus geographicus and Ceutorhynchus l a r v a t u s have been s tud ied by t h e CSIRO bu t not approved f o r r e l e a s e by t h e p l a n t qua ran t ine a u t h o r i t i e s . A l l e i g h t o f t h e c o n t r o l agen t s have been recommended t o t h e B i o l o g i c a l Con t ro l Au thor i ty by t h e A u s t r a l i a n A g r i c u l t u r a l Council . D e t a i l s of t he hos t -speci f i c i t y t e s t s i n d i c a t e t h a t o f t h e four agen t s approved f o r r e l e a s e by t h e p l a n t q u a r a n t i n e a u t h o r i t i e s , two a r e s p e c i f i c t o Echium and the o t h e r two a r e s p e c i f i c t o the Boraginaceae fami ly .

T e s t s were c a r r i e d o u t on a whole s e r i e s of p l a n t s . Of t h e p l a n t s of A u s t r a l i a n o r non-European o r i g i n n o t widely c u l t i v a t e d i n t h e Mediterranean region, it is cons idered t h a t gum, w a t t l e , Monterey p ine and macadamia nu t were t h e most vu lne rab le .

P l a n t s t e s t e d from d i f f e r e n t eco-c l imat ic r eg ions included app le s , p e a r s , h a r i c o t beans , cow peas , oak, c a s t o r bean, f i g s and some c u l t i v a t e d p l a n t s r e l a t e d t o those l i s t e d - c h e r r y , plum, peach, a p r i c o t , s t r awber ry , l uce rne , broad bean and pea - and none was a f f e c t e d .

P l a n t s r e l a t e d t o Echium which were a f f e c t e d included borage , forget-me-not, comfrey, garden h e l i o t r o p e and h e l i o t r o p e . None o f t hese is a commercial c r o p and farmers w i l l b e n e f i t from being a b l e t o c o n t r o l h e l i o t r o p e , which is a t o x i c weed, b i o l o g i c a l l y . Other c l o s e l y r e l a t e d p l a n t s which were una f fec t ed included tomato, p o t a t o , egg p l a n t , tobacco, pepper , sweet p o t a t o , phlox, budd le i a , snapdragon, jacaranda , b ignon ia , sesamum, verbena and sage.

The CSIRO h a s n o t been a b l e t o r e l e a s e any more t e c h n i c a l informat ion on t h e l i k e l y e f f e c t i v e n e s s and consequent l i k e l y ' success ' of t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l o f Echium. Limited a v a i l a b l e informat ion i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e r e a r e no n a t u r a l p r e d a t o r s of t he proposed Echium c o n t r o l agen t s b u t t h a t they a r e l i k e l y t o be most e f f e c t i v e i n the more p roduc t ive , h ighe r r a i n f a l l a r e a s , e s p e c i a l l y when used i n conjunct ion wi th e x i s t i n g c o n t r o l a l t e r n a t i v e s ( t h a t is, a systems approach) .

I n d i c a t i o n s a r e t h a t t he agen t s w i l l be less e f f e c t i v e i n t h e lower r a i n f a l l a r e a s and t h a t they may be s u s c e p t i b l e t o the e f f e c t s of drought

( f o r example, a l l o f t he i n s e c t s used i n t h e exper imenta l r e l e a s e of 1980 a r e thought t o have pe r i shed i n t h e 1983 d rough t ) . This may have impor tant imp l i ca t ions f o r t he l i k e l y e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t h e b i o l o g i c a l c o n t r o l program and an augmentative approach may be necessary (see Appendix B) .

F i n a l l y , o f most importance, b e s i d e s not knowing t h e l i k e l y e q u i l i b r i u m of t h e c o n t r o l agent and Echium i n the environment, s c i e n t i s t s a r e unsure o f t h e dynamics o f spread o f the s p e c i e s most l i k e l y t o r e p l a c e Echium.

C.2 Non-Biological Con t ro l o f Echium

Cur ren t ly , fa rmers and weed c o n t r o l agenc ie s incur annual ly r e c u r r i n g c o s t s a s s o c i a t e d wi th a range o f non-bio logica l c o n t r o l s o f Echium, o f which chemical sp ray ing , g raz ing and c u l t i v a t i o n o r a combination of t h e s e a r e the most impor tant .

P igg in (1982) provided d e t a i l s on t h e fo l lowing range o f non-bio logica l c o n t r o l s .

Herbic ides : E f f e c t i v e c o n t r o l o f Echium can be achieved by spraying t h e p l a n t i n t h e r o s e t t e phase o f growth wi th any one o f a number o f h e r b i c i d e s ( f o r example, 2,4-D). However, sp ray ing a t t h i s s t a g e impl i e s t h e loss o f t h e most va luab le fo rage phase o f t h e p l a n t . Consequently, i n p r a c t i c e , l andho lde r s f r e q u e n t l y de l ay sp ray ing u n t i l t he f lower ing s t a g e , when higher doses o f he rb ic ide a r e necessary , it is more expensive and t h e c o n t r o l is less e f f e c t i v e . Recent spray-grazing t echno log ie s appear a t b e s t t o provide a poor compromise s o l u t i o n .

Burning: Burning wi th flame throwers o r by s t r i p burning has had only l i m i t e d success and the low f i r e r i s k a s s o c i a t e d wi th Echium s t a n d s h a s been suggested a s an advantage of Echium. Fur the r , burning is no t p r a c t i c a l over l a r g e a r e a s du r ing the h igh f i r e danger p e r i o d s o f summer.

C u l t i v a t i o n : A s mentioned e a r l i e r , Echium can be e f f e c t i v e l y c o n t r o l l e d (a long wi th o t t e r unwanted p l a n t s ) i n a r a b l e a r e a s by c u l t i v a t i o n procedures a s s o c i a t e d wi th seed-bed p r e p a r a t i o n fo r c rop product ion . However, t h i s method is obvious ly i m p r a c t i c a l i n n a t i o n a l parks , a long roads ides and i n permanent p a s t u r e s i t u a t i o n s .

Grazing: Heavy g raz ing o f Echium when p l a n t s a r e young, a t r e g u l a r i n t e r v a l s and a t t he end o f t h e l i f e c y c l e when seeding has been recognised a s an e f f e c t i v e means o f c o n t r o l . Although sheep a r e thought t o be more e f f i c i e n t than c a t t l e , P igg in (1982) b e l i e v e s t h a t s tocking r a t e , g raz ing p r e s s u r e and timing a r e t h e main parameters a f f e c t i n g t h e l e v e l o f c o n t r o l . However, g raz ing should be used i n a systems approach o r else overgraz ing f o r c o n t r o l may r e s u l t i n p a s t u r e damage and s o i l e ros ion .

Mowing: Mowing a s a c o n t r o l o f Echium h a s been u s e f u l over smal l a r e a s , e s p e c i a l l y i n combination wi th o t h e r c o n t r o l measures ( f o r example, mowing may be used a s a p a r t i a l s u b s t i t u t e f o r g r a z i n g ) .

P a s t u r e e s t ab l i shmen t : Es tabl i shment o f a v igo rous ly growing improved p a s t u r e ( f o r example, f e r t i l i s e d sub te r r anean c love r ) i n combination wi th o t h e r means of c o n t r o l ( e s p e c i a l l y c u l t i v a t i o n , spraying and g raz ing ) p rov ides an e f f e c t i v e means o f c o n t r o l , p a r t i c u l a r l y on b e t t e r s o i l s and h ighe r r a i n f a l l a r e a s (Michael 1970).

F e r t i l i s e r a p p l i c a t i o n : F e r t i l i s e r a p p l i c a t i o n a s p a r t o f a p a s t u r e e s t ab l i shmen t has been used t o e f f e c t i v e l y c o n t r o l Echium a s desc r ibed above. However, t op d r e s s i n g o f sub te r r anean c l o v e r p a s t u r e s has a l s o been r epor t ed t o o f f e r a u s e f u l form o f c o n t r o l (Carn 1939) .

Hand weeding : Obviously, mechanical c o n t r o l o f t h i s kind is t e c h n i c a l l y e f f i c i e n t b u t both economically i n e f f i c i e n t and i m p r a c t i c a l over l a r g e a reas .

P re sen t c o n t r o l measures have a number o f s e r i o u s d isadvantages .

. They a r e a l l s h o r t term and r e q u i r e r e a p p l i c a t i o n t o be e f f e c t i v e .

. They r e q u i r e a co-ordinated e f f o r t by farmers and weed c o n t r o l agencies f o r a s imul taneous and e f f e c t i v e c o n t r o l .

. I t is u n l i k e l y t h a t p r e s e n t methods o f c o n t r o l w i l l be g r e a t l y improved, o r become cheaper t o apply .

. The repeated a p p l i c a t i o n o f 2,4-D removes a l l legumes, t hus reducing the va lue o f t he p a s t u r e and reducing t h e l e v e l o f s o i l n i t r o g e n compared wi th unsprayed p a s t u r e a reas .

. The r epea ted use o f heavy g raz ing o r h e r b i c i d e s removes much o f t h e t o t a l v e g e t a t i o n and groundcover and i n c r e a s e s t h e r i s k of s o i l e r o s i o n ( e s p e c i a l l y on h i l l y a r e a s ) .

. Graz ie r s i n many a r e a s i n f e s t e d wi th Echium do no t always use, o r do not understand how t o use , t he techniques a v a i l a b l e t o c o n t r o l Echium.

. F i n a l l y , t r a d i t i o n a l methods of c o n t r o l even when used a r e no t comple te ly e f f e c t i v e and, i n s p i t e o f many y e a r s o f t h e i r use , Echium is still spreading and becoming more f i rmly e s t a b l i s h e d .

Appendix D

GOVERNMENT INVOLVEKENT I N WEED CONTROL

There a r e t h r e e main reasons why t h e Government should be involved in g e n e r a l weed c o n t r o l (Menz and Auld 1977) .

Informat ion: T i s d e l l , Auld and Menz (1984a) c l a im t h a t t e c h n i c a l informat ion a s s o c i a t e d wi th weed c o n t r o l ' appears t o be poor ly d i s t r i b u t e d and undersuppl ied from s o c i e t y ' s p o i n t of view1. For example, t h e e x i s t i n g system may r e s u l t i n an overemphasis o f unco-ordinated he rb ic ide use by i n d i v i d u a l s . Government involvement through the ex tens ion system (which is a l r eady occur r ing in some a r e a s ) appears t o be a simple s o l u t i o n t o t h i s i s sue .

Cost economies: Research i n t o t e c h n i c a l i s s u e s a s soc ia t ed wi th weed c o n t r o l f r e q u e n t l y r e q u i r e s s p e c i a l s k i l l s and equipment. Second, Auld e t a l . (1978-79) sugges t t h a t ' t h e dynamics of weed spread j u s t i f y the co-ordinat ion of weed c o n t r o l ' . Consequently, government involvement may be warranted where economies of s i z e e x i s t i n r e sea rch o r weed c o n t r o l .

E x t e r n a l i t i e s : ~ x t e r n a l i t i e s ( ' s p i l l o v e r ' Or ' o f f - s i t e ' e f f e c t s ) a r e c o s t s o r b e n e f i t s which occur o u t s i d e o f t he def ined market and a r e not involved i n the a n a l y s i s o f i s sues by i n d i v i d u a l s . There a r e two l i k e l y c a s e s of e x t e r n a l i t i e s a s s o c i a t e d wi th g e n e r a l weed c o n t r o l .

. Where weeds a r e uncontro l led by i n d i v i d u a l s o r by governments ( f o r example, i n n a t i o n a l pa rks o r a long roads ides ) , o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l s incur an increased r i s k and c o s t a s soc ia t ed wi th t h e spread a c r o s s t h e i r boundar ies .

. A l t e r n a t i v e l y , where one i n d i v i d u a l c o n t r o l s t he weeds on a p rope r ty , t h e r e is u n l i k e l y t o be any compensation o f c o s t s from surrounding p rope r ty owners who s imul taneously accrue b e n e f i t s from the reduced l i k e l i h o o d of spreading.

I n t h e s e c i rcumstances , it is l i k e l y t h a t t he p r i v a t e l e v e l of weed c o n t r o l w i l l be l e s s than the s o c i a l l y d e s i r a b l e l e v e l . Menz and Auld (1977) note t h a t 'government i n t e r v e n t i o n v i a noxious-plant l e g i s l a t i o n is a d i r e c t response t o the problem o f e x t e r n a ' l i t i e s , s i n c e noxiousness is proclaimed i f t he p l a n t is l i k e l y t o spread and worthwhile b e n e f i t t o the community is reasonably a n t i c i p a t e d ' .

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