Biological control of gorse

Gorse (Ulex europaeus) was introduced to NZ from Western Europe as a hedge plant before 1838; it grows at a fast rate and has the ability to grow up to 4 meters long in NZ. They have an average life- span of 29 years and can produce 34,000 seeds per meter square per annum. Its seed is extremely long lived and they normally germinate in autumn or spring to mid-summer. Seedpods explode when exposed to full sunlight. The seeds are scattered by water, birds, animals, farm machinery and road equipment. Gorse can be found in flower in almost any month, but the main season is spring. It can grow in almost all soil types because it¡¦s a nitrogen fixer, which means it can improve the condition of the soil by itself and this gives the advantage of the plant invading new areas.

The reason that biological control is needed for gorse is because gorse had broke the ecological equilibrium of the environment. Gorse is considered as a pest because it has the ability to invade new areas of pasture ...