Weed management

The work focusing on weed management uses an understanding of weed science and weed dynamics to deliver integrated weed management solutions to farm businesses across central Queensland. We have looked to improve integrated management of weeds across a range of broadacre farming systems as well as the control of hard-to-manage weeds in specific cropping situations. 

The focus areas can be divided into four main topics.

1. Sunflower weed management studies 
   Research to identify herbicide alternatives and weed competition studies in sunflower. The overall focus is to develop effective integrated weed management strategies in order to reduce the negative impact sunflowers have in the farming system. The predominant research questions addressed are - can sunflower agronomy be manipulated to improve crop competitiveness, and can this be used in conjunction with herbicides to improve weed management?

2. Butterfly pea weed management studies
   Research addressing weed management in butterfly pea, specifically to develop a package that covers both in-crop (in-legume) weed management and management of butterfly pea as a weed itself, including (but to a lesser degree) termination of the ley phase. Research questions were:

   1. Can glyphosate and or metsulfuron be used safely in established stands of butterfly pea to control weeds coming into the spring-summer period?
   2. Are current registered in-crop herbicides utilised in sorghum and wheat effective for controlling volunteer butterfly pea?
      
      

3. Weed studies in sorghum at Belvue, Gindie 
   Trial conducted at Belvue, Gindie in 2002, as a cooperative effort between Pioneer Seeds and the CQSFSP, to examine the effect of sorghum population, row configuration and hybrid maturity on grain yield. In conjunction, the research examined the impacts of these agronomic attributes on weeds and vice versa. Up to then, little was known about the impact of wide-row cropping systems on weeds, nor the impact of weeds on the system.

4. Long term weed monitoring of specific project development sites 
   Research conducted to relate weed population dynamics to the full gamut of farming practices being undertaken at particular sites over a length of time to help develop an understanding as to why and how a weed problem arises, which may assist with identifying a possible solution (likely to be embedded in the farming activities themselves). Eight sites were selected for monitoring and over time this has diminished to two development sites due to site attrition and changes in focus of the project. A wealth of data has been collected, however only the data from the two enduring sites are reported on here.

Current research and activities

• Weed identification workshops with growers.
• Weed management studies in sunflower using a farming systems focus - herbicide efficacy and tolerance screening in conjunction with improving the competitiveness of sunflower.
• Integrated weed management (IWM) activities - specifically the delivery of an action learning module (ALM) in conjunction with DAQ527 and its follow-on project.
• On-farm development work with shielded and inter row sprayers in sorghum grown on wide rows. This is in conjunction with DAQ00064.

Past research and activities

• Long-term weed monitoring of designated sites involving fixed transects to record species richness and fecundity. This work is providing an understanding of weed dynamics as influenced by farming practices and systems.
• Weed management issues for in-crop butterfly pea - addressing in-crop herbicide efficacy and tolerance studies. Managing butterfly pea as a weed in subsequent cropping phases - addressing the control of butterfly pea in sorghum and wheat.
• Participatory action learning with farmer groups with respect to weed management - sharing knowledge, discussing ideas and stimulation of lateral thinking to solve immediate weed problems.
• DAQ527 Risk assessment and preventive IWM strategies for herbicide resistance in the NGR (GRDC funded 2001-2005).
• DAQ123C Best weed management strategies for dryland cropping systems with cotton. (CRDC, Cotton CRC & Weeds CRC funding 2002-2005).
• DAQ00064 Delivering applied solutions to central Queensland weed issues (GRDC funded 2003-2006).
• CRC2.2.2.1 Summer fallow weed impacts (Weeds CRC funding 2003-2006).