• Charles Sturt University will lead a team of researchers in a national survey of herbicide resistance in weeds of Australian grain crops.
• This is the first time the entire Australian grain-growing region will be surveyed for herbicide resistance in the one growing season using the same methodology.
• The survey will provide important information about the prevalence of herbicide resistance that will guide growers and the weed control industry on strategies for weed management.

Farmers are invited to be part of the first nationally-coordinated survey of herbicide resistance in weeds of the Australian grain production region.

The survey is supported by an investment from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and will provide important information about the evolution of herbicide resistance at both a national and regional level to help growers better manage weeds.

The survey will be led by Charles Sturt University with collaboration from the University of Western Australia, University of Adelaide, University of Sydney and Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Charles Sturt researcher Dr John Broster (pictured) from the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation said this large national survey will determine the resistance status of major cropping weeds to key herbicides.

“The extent of resistance across the entire Australian cropping region has previously been identified through surveys of the individual regions , however this is the first time a national survey will be conducted in the same growing season using standardised  methods for  site selection, sample collection and resistance evaluation,” Dr Broster said.

“For this survey, the project team members will be contacting agronomists and growers in order to locate sampling sites.

“This means we can provide growers with the herbicide resistance screening results for weed populations collected from their paddocks.”

From October to December 2020 the team will sample more than 2700 winter crop paddocks and another 450 summer crop paddocks will be surveyed in northern NSW and Queensland in 2021.

Samples of the major and some emerging weed species for each of the GRDC regions, Western, Southern and Northern, will be collected when those weeds are found in a paddock.

Farmers who want to be involved should contact the project leader for their region:

• New South Wales: John Broster, Charles Sturt University (jbroster@csu.edu.au) and Michael Walsh, University of Sydney (m.j.walsh@sydney.edu.au).
• Western Australia: Mechelle Owen, University of Western Australia (mechelle.owen@uwa.edu.au).
• South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania: Chris Preston, University of Adelaide (christopher.preston@adelaide.edu.au).
• Queensland: Michael Widderick, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Michael.Widderick@daf.qld.gov.au).