Preliminary note on a rat plague in north-west Queensland

Abstract

In the Mitchell grass, Astrebla sp., downs of north-west Queensland, irregular severe droughts cause large losses of sheep. In an effort to prevent these losses, pastoralists have recently begun to grow crops of sweet sorghum, Sorghum vulgare Pers., for silage. During 1956, the sorghum crops in some areas were completely destroyed by rats, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization was asked to look into the problem. A visit was made in July to a sheep station, "Dundee", about 60 miles south of Richmond, where some of the first crops of sorghum had been grown, and where damage by rats was severe during the current season.