Top weeds researchers, extension specialists and advisers will gather in Adelaide this week to test run and fine-tune a new manual and training course on Integrated Weed Management (IWM). 

The manual draws on a decade of research by Australian researchers, and has been prepared by the CRC for Australian Weed Management.

The training course –based on the manual – has been designed to help farm advisers persuade graingrowers to be more strategic and think long term about weed management and use a more diverse range of weed management tactics.

After the “pilot” training course in Adelaide, the national IWM campaign will move to the first of 15 to 20 workshops that aim to train more than 200 grain industry advisers around Australia over the next 18 months.

The campaign is a collaboration between the CRC, the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and the Independent Consultants Australia Network (ICAN).

It grew out of concerns about the speed at which herbicide resistant weeds are developing as a result of now outdated management practices.

John Cameron, of the Independent Consultants of Australia Network (ICAN), will run the national round of training workshops for advisers who, after the successful completion of a practical, post-workshop assignment, will receive a formal accreditation in IWM. 

According to New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSWDPI) weeds agronomist, Andrew Storrie, who leads the team collating the IWM manual, it’s been extensively demonstrated around Australia that reliance on herbicides as the primary means of weed control is not sustainable.  

“IWM uses a diverse range of control methods – including cultural techniques like  competitive crops – alongside herbicides for sustainable weed control,” Mr Storrie  says.

“Development of IWM has been driven primarily by the need to reduce reliance on herbicide. Reducing reliance on herbicides is critical to slow the development of herbicide resistance and to maximise the effective life of herbicides, keeping them useful well into the future.

“Concerns about herbicide use are industry wide across the Australian grain belt and we expect strong demand for IWM accreditation. Already there’s been great interest from the retail agronomists – the group which has the greatest interaction with growers on day-to-day weed management issues.”

Mr Storrie said weeds researchers from NSW, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia had contributed to the development of the Weeds CRC IWM manual.

By delivering the latest research results, it was probably the most up-to-date manual of its type in the world. It would explain how to:

• assess weed management problems,

• develop effective management strategies,

• provide a comprehensive overview and discussion of herbicide resistance, and

• detail individual weed management tactics and discuss their implementation and suitability to farm enterprise and/or weed species.

The manual also contained invaluable information on Australia’s worst weeds of cropping and relayed a grower voice through numerous case studies of successful IWM.

Mr Cameron said IWM accreditation would require successful completion of a two-day workshop, subsequent development of on-farm IWM system and associated assessment tasks.

Accreditation would count as two units of a Level 5 diploma from the Murrumbidgee Agricultural College.

“We believe the best candidates for accreditation will be agronomists and other advisers who already have field experience advising growers on weed management in cropping systems,” Mr Cameron said.

“Our objective is to have advisers and growers thinking more about long-term weed management strategy rather than fire fighting today’s weed problem from a drum.”