Weed Science Research Group - Resources & Highlights
Discoveries and advice from the Weed Science Research Group.
Learn about weed management tactics for broad acre cropping across southern regions of mainland Australia. Here you can find fact sheets as well as links to our researcher's work, including webinars and podcasts.
Our work is regularly featured in GRDC Ground Cover(TM), GRDC research update papers, and WeedSmart resources and articles. These articles provide excellent insight on current issues and topics within weed science including biology, management and herbicide resistance.
Our researchers are also often found speaking about their findings at town halls, sheds and in the paddock beside their trials. More recently, their virtual presence has been appreciated at events outside of South Australia.
For scientific journal publications - refer to team member's individual researcher profiles.
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Fact sheets
Managing resistant ryegrass in canola with crop competition and pre-emergent herbicides
Greater weed control was achieved through crop competition offered by an hybrid triazine tolerant (TT) canola compared to an open-pollinated TT, especially when combined with an effective pre-emergent herbicide strategy.
Alternative herbicides for management of group A herbicide-resistant barley grass in field pea
The combination of group A herbicide-resistance plus high seed dormancy makes barley grass increasingly difficult for Australian farmers to control.
Feathertop Rhodes grass: biology and management
Understanding the biology of feathertop Rhodes grass (FTR) will help guide management choices for successful long-term control.
Windmill grass: biology and management
An understanding of windmill grass (WMG) biology will help guide management choices to enable successful long-term control.
Statice (winged sea-lavender): biology, ecology and IWM tactics
Statice is emerging as a significant weed of field crops in the low to medium rainfall areas of southern Australia. It can be effectively managed with an integrated weed management (IWM) plan.
Long-term control & seedbank depletion of annual ryegrass: management strategies
A succession of years with multiple and diverse control options used in varying cropping phases is central to successful ryegrass management.
Maximise clethodim performance: impact of frost
Frost events in the few days before or after clethodim application can reduce activity of the herbicide on annual ryegrass.
Herbicide resistant wild radish: take back control
Herbicide resistance in wild radish is developing fast. Implement an effectively timed 2-spray herbicide strategy and prevent seedset.
Disc seeding systems and pre-emergent herbicides
Using disc seeding systems to maximise weed control with pre-emergent herbicides whilst minimising crop damage is not cut-and-dry.
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Webinars, videos and podcasts
How do I make the right decision on using Group Gs?
Choosing and applying the right pre-emergent herbicide can be difficult, particularly if herbicide resistance is becoming a challenge in a no-till system. Join Dr Chris Preston and Chris Davey as they explain the new Group G chemistry and de-mystify which Group G works best for winter cropping systems.
November 2020
You don’t know what you don’t know about managing weeds
Australia has an ever-increasing list of herbicide-resistant weed species and agronomists play a key role not only in identifying and tackling crop weeds but also in protecting chemistries. Join Dr. Chris Preston, Paul McIntosh and Ben Dawson.
July 2020 - 70 min
Glyphosate resistance update
Dr. Peter Boutsalis discuss' how to optimise the efficacy of glyphosate and when to use the double knock strategy. Peter also shares the latest results from the random weeds survey in the Eyre Peninsula and southern Victoria.
July 2020 - 50 min
Crop competition Q&A
Drs Gurjeet Gill and Michael Widderick answer questions that may have cropped up for participants of WeedSmart's free course Crop Competition 101. They also provide an overview of the crop competition work being delivered by their teams.
April 2020 - 50 min
Pre-em herbicides Q&A
Chris Preston, Mark Congreve and Peter Newman answer questions for participants of WeedSmart's free course Pre-emergent Herbicides 101.
April 2019 - 60 min
Use pre-ems to maximise winter crops in the south
Chris Preston delves into the behaviour of pre-emergent herbicides, how to give your crop the best start and diminish the weed seedbank, and what pre-emergents to use when sowing your crop dry in the south.
April 2018 - 60 min
Digging into the details of Feathertop Rhodes grass and blue lupins
WA grower Jamie Greaves talks about blue lupins and then the focus shifts to Feathertop Rhodes grass and how this is proving to be an issue for growers in Northern NSW. Dr Chris Preston and Richard Daniel shed light on this issue and how to get on top of this weed.
July 2020 - 45 min
Brome and barley grass: A lesson in resilience
How farmers can change the nature of weeds is spotlighted by how quickly barley and brome grasses have reacted to our attempts to control them in cropping paddocks. On this podcast Dr Gurjeet Gill explains the adaption of these grasses, which are now lasting longer in the seedbank.
Jan 2020 - 10 min
Making barley grass barely a problem
Barley grass in the southern cropping region is becoming more prominent as a problem weed; as herbicide resistance emerges and as the plant evolves new behaviours. Hear what Dr Gurjeet Gill says about this topic and his region-wide series of trials that are currently underway.
Jan 2020 - 10 min
Weeds, speed and resistance
The speed at which weeds develop resistance to herbicides makes farmer vigilance of paramount importance. On this podcast Dr Chris Preston outlines the current resistance status of both grass and broadleaf weeds.
Dec 2019 - 12 min
Weed science videos
- Chris Preston: What you should know about the new pre-emergent herbicides. (16 min). 2020
- David Brunton: Evolution and management of Group J and K resistance in annual ryegrass. (9 min). 2019
- Gurjeet Gill: The race between weed evolution and weed control tactics. (6 min). 2018
- Peter Boutsalis: Tactics to improve glyphosate effectiveness. (5 min). 2018
- Chris Preston: Three tactics to get weed numbers down. (4 min). 2018
