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Golden dodder (Cuscuta campestris)

Golden dodder is a parasitic weed that attacks crops and sown pastures, reducing yields by taking nutrients from host plants and forming dense mats. It also attacks native plants and is a concern in wetlands and other natural areas in parts of Australia.

Key facts

Type: Weed, vine and creeper.

Native to: Thought to be native to North America and parts of the Caribbean, and possibly parts of South America..

Established in: QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, WA, NT.

Other names: Common Dodder, Field Dodder, Angel's Hair, Love Vine.

Best time to act: Look for new growth from late spring and act before flowering and seed production, which mostly occur in spring and early summer.

Identification

  • It is a leafless, twining plant with thin, thread-like stems, usually bright golden yellow or orange.
  • Small suckers on the stems penetrate a host plant's stems or leaves to take nutrients.
  • Its small cream to white flowers grow in dense clusters.
  • Its greenish-yellow, rounded capsules contain up to four small tan, greyish-brown or dark brown seeds.
  • Look-alike: Other dodders, including Cuscuta planiflora, C. epithymum and C. victoriana, usually have reddish or pinkish stems; C. suaveolens and C. tasmanica have loose flower clusters rather than dense ones.
  • Look-alike: Native Dodder Laurels (Cassytha spp.) are also parasitic twiners, but have three petals and three sepals, often hairy green stems, and fleshy, one-seeded fruits.

Where it grows

In Australia it grows on plants in gardens, parks, roadsides and waterways, and occurs in pastures, grasslands, open woodlands, coastal vine thickets, riparian areas and wetlands across several states and territories.

Why it matters

  • It attacks crops, especially daisy-family and legume-family plants, as well as pasture legumes, vegetables and horticultural plants.
  • Parasitism and shading from dense stems can significantly reduce crop yields, and infested areas may need to be quarantined for several years before cropping resumes.
  • It attacks native and naturalised plants in pastures, along roadsides and in natural areas.
  • It is an environmental weed in parts of Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, and is of particular concern in inland wetlands.

How it spreads

  • Large numbers of seeds, and sometimes stem fragments, spread in contaminated agricultural produce.
  • Seeds and fragments can be washed downstream by floods and water movement; seeds can also travel in mud on vehicles or pass through animals' digestive tracts intact.

Control options

  • Prevent new infestations with good quarantine measures, certified pasture seed, and destruction of contaminated fodder.
  • Cut host plants as close to ground level as possible and burn them; do not slash infested areas.
  • Rotate severely infested crops or pastures with less susceptible or resistant options; after using rotations, do not sow lucerne or susceptible legumes again for at least five years.
  • Where appropriate, use registered contact herbicides on standing growth or non-selective herbicides in non-crop areas, following label directions and local requirements.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Clean machinery before moving it to other paddocks, as seeds can be carried in mud attached to vehicles.
  • Destroy contaminated hay and grain, and keep stock from infested areas in quarantine for at least two days before moving them to dodder-free pastures.
  • Inspect and clean vehicles, plant and footwear before leaving an infested area, paying attention to tyres, radiators, belly plates, tracks and floor mats.
  • Wash down at a designated bay where runoff is contained and can be monitored for seedlings.
  • Record each washdown so the client has evidence of clean entry and exit.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Not a priority weed. Not a state or regional priority weed in NSW. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Not declared. Not declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Other Victorian laws may still apply.
  • South Australia: Declared plant. Depending on the declaration, it can be an offence to move it on public roads or sell it, and landowners may be required to control it on their land.
  • Western Australia: Declared pest (C3). C3 Management: landholders must manage it to reduce its impact and stop it spreading.
  • Tasmania: Declared weed. Property managers are required by law to control declared weeds, and their import and sale are prohibited.
  • Northern Territory: Not declared. Not on the NT A to Z weed list, and Weeds Australia does not list it as declared in the NT. Check the NT declared weeds list before moving or planting it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Not declared. Not declared under the Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT). A general biosecurity duty still applies.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Western Australia: Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (WA), administered by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Northern Territory: Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976 (NT), administered by NT Department of Lands, Planning and Environment

Sources