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Experiment
1 - Protecting the Mango/Pecan/Lemon Myrtle Trees against
wallaby damage
Almost all of the the fruit trees have been damaged by wallabies. The bark on
the stems has been stripped. Initially the trees had been protected with solid
chicken wire guards but it is likely that these guards were
fitted after the damage. In any case, the guards were overgrown and had to be
removed to clear the trees. an Israeli stone fruit farmer, by chance, suggested
to use ag-pipe to protect the stems. We did this in December, 2002. It was fast
and cheap.
April 2003 - All the trees have thrived. There is no evidence that the guards
have damaged the trees in any way. The wallabies have continued to attack the
trees and tried to strip the bark. However, this has only been possible in the
areas that were not protected by the ag-pipe. This mans that we have to fit some
additional ag-pipe protection. At this point the experiment looks positive.
UPDATE - Nov. 03
We have now removed most of the covers. There was certainly significant wallaby
protection. However, Linda felt that the bark under the covers showed signs of
stress.
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