THE EFFECT OF THE BIPYRIDYL HERBICIDES ON HILL COMMUNITIES AND THEIR ROLE IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF HILL GRAZING

The improvement of hill land is important to the national economy of the United Kingdom. An increase in the amount of enclosed productive land results in a greater stock-carrying capacity of a hill farm. Improvement is not always possible by conventional implements, and herbicides are being used to kill the old sward. The bipyridyl herbicides offer a means of destroying or modifying the indigenous vegetation. The application of low doses of paraquat or diquat to an association containing Molinia caerulea, Nardus sfricta and Festuca avina resulted in a change in equilibrium in favour of the fescues. The application of 2 lb paraquat per acre practically eliminates all grass species in a sward and it is then possible to establish desirable pasture species after lightly cultivating the dead surface litter.     

The utilisation of poison hoppers designed for grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin) control

The grey squirrel is recognised as a pest species of economic importance but the justification of the view appears to be founded on local areas of severe damage. Despite evidence that damage may not be alleviated by squirrel population destruction, Warfarin poisoning was introduced as an alternative to trapping.The utilisation by wildlife of a poison hopper designed for grey squirrel control was investigated by automatic photography. Results confirmed that a number of species may feed from the grain presented via the hopper. However, the majority of the bait was removed during the hours of darkness when grey squirrels were not active. It is a conservative estimate that between 55 and 65% of the grain entered the environment via animals other than squirrels.In addition, the removalof bait by night visitors resulted in the accumulation of large quantities of bait at and around the entrance to the hopper tunnel. This increased accessibility to the potentially poisoned bait by animals other than squirrels.Until such time as evidence is produced to show these results as exceptional, it can only be concluded that fears expressed over the lack of specificity of this method of control are justified.