Invasiveness Assessment - Sand rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) in Victoria (Nox)

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Plant invasiveness is determined by evaluating a plant’s biological and ecological characteristics against criteria that encompass establishment requirements, growth rate and competitive ability, methods of reproduction, and dispersal mechanisms.

Each characteristic, or criterion, is assessed against a list of intensity ratings. Depending upon information found, a rating of Low, Medium Low, Medium High or High is assigned to that criterion. Where no data is available to answer a criterion, a rating of medium (M) is applied. A description of the invasiveness criteria and intensity ratings used in this process can be viewed here.

The following table provides information on the invasiveness of Sand rocket.

A more detailed description of the methodology of the Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method can be viewed below:

Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method (PDF - 630 KB)
Victorian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) method (DOC - 1 MB)
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Common Name: Sand rocket
Scientific name: Diplotaxis tenuifolia

Question	Comments	Reference	Rating
Establishment
Germination requirements?	Seeds germinate after autumn rains.	P & C (1992)	MH
Establishment requirements?	Occurs in mostly ‘open’ areas e.g. pastures, roadsides, waste areas and open natural ecosystems.	P & C (1992) Carr et al (1992)	ML
How much disturbance is required?	Establishes in minor disturbed natural ecosystems, e.g. grass lands & riparian.	Carr et al (1992)	MH
Growth/Competitive
Life form?	“Aerial growth dies in late autumn and new growth is produced at the crown”, therefore geophyte. * However, not recorded as a geophyte by Carr et al (1992).	P & C (1992)	ML
Allelopathic properties?	None described.		L
Tolerates herb pressure?	Not always readily eaten by stock.	P & C (1992)	MH
Normal growth rate?	“Invades poor pastures & becomes the dominant species, but it does not cause problems in established, well managed pastures”.	P & C (1992)	MH
Stress tolerance to frost, drought, w/logg, sal. etc?	Tolerates water logging (occurs along watercourses and riparian areas). ? * However, stated as preferring ‘porous’ or ‘well-drained sandy soils’ P & C (1992), AgWest 2000). Presumably tolerates drought. * Forms a long tap root which utilises water from deep underground, which enables it to survive and grow throughout the dry West Australian summer. (AgWest 2000). Frost (occurs in Southern Tasmania & N. UK).	P & C (1992) AgWest (2000) Carr et al (1992) Clapham et al (1952)	ML
Reproduction
Reproductive system	Reproducing from a taproot and by seed.	P & C (1992)	H
Number of propagules produced?	Equal to 10 flower clusters per plant x 5 fruits per cluster x 50 seeds per fruit = 2,500 seeds.	P & C (1992) Robbins et al (1951)	H
Propagule longevity?	?		M
Reproductive period?	Can form monocultures (picture P & C (1992) p. 343).	P & C (1992)	H
Time to reproductive maturity?	Germinates in autumn – flowering in spring/summer.	P & C (1992)	H
Dispersal
Number of mechanisms?	Cultivation equipment, vehicles, animals, clothes, bags, water and mud etc.	P & C (1992)	MH
How far do they disperse?	Seed said to be ‘readily transported as a contaminant on vehicles including rail cars’. Many seeds could therefore be dispersed > 200 m.	P & C (1992)	MH

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