Australia
July 9, 2008
Source:
GRDC's The Crop Doctor
Weed Seed Wizard, a recently
released computer tool, should help grain growers make better
weed management decisions.
The underlying message is that to win the war against weeds,
growers must fight a long-term campaign against the seedbank
hidden beneath the soil.
Wizard co-project leaders are Dr Michael Renton,The University
of Western Australia (UWA) and Dr Sally Peltzer, Department of
Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA).
The project was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for
Australian Weed Management and supported by sponsors, including
the Grains Research and
Development Corporation (GRDC).
Dr Peltzer said the Wizard targets major crop weeds from each
state including six weed species common to farming systems in
WA: annual ryegrass, wild radish, brome grass, barley grass,
wild oat and silver grass.
Mathematical modeller, Dr Renton, designed Weed Seed Wizard to
be user-friendly.
Available at www.grdc.com.au/weedlinks under the heading IWM, it
enables growers to contact the Wizard himself – programmer, Dr
Renton.
According to Dr Renton, the prototype simulates important
interactions between weather, paddock management and seed
biology, before predicting numbers, ages, soil depths, dormancy
levels, viability and germination of seeds in the soil.
Dr Peltzer indicates that a particular strength of the Wizard is
to warn growers of potential weed problems while they are still
avoidable.
She said by gaining an insight into the hidden weed seedbank,
growers can co-ordinate their long-term management strategies
for weeds.
Dr Rohan Rainbow, GRDC Manager, Crop Protection, said the
outcome for growers using Weed Seed Wizard would be more
sustainable farms and farming practices, which is a key strategy
of the GRDC’s Strategic R&D
2007-2012 plan: ‘Prosperity Through Innovation’.
He emphasised that Wizard would indicate how agronomic decisions
affect factors such as weed germination, crop yield and
long-term farm sustainability.
It would also explore how seed characteristics and herbicide
resistance of different weed species or populations can affect
management strategies.
Importantly, Wizard can also account for conservation tillage
systems, with provision for a range of non-chemical integrated
weed management characteristics.
Dr Renton describes Weed Seed Wizard as a “work in progress” and
said new weed species and management options will be added as
the data becomes available. |
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The Crop Doctor is
GRDC Managing Director,
Peter Reading |
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