Publications

Glyphosate is the most important and widely used herbicide in world agriculture. Intensive glyphosate selection has resulted in the widespread evolution of glyphosate-resistant weed populations, threatening the sustainability of this valuable once-in-acentury agrochemical. Field-evolved glyphosate resistance due to known resistance mechanisms is generally low to modest.

Lolium rigidum (annual ryegrass) is a widespread annual crop weed that has evolved high levels of resistance to selective herbicides. Anecdotal evidence suggests that intensive cropping also leads to higher seed dormancy in L. rigidum. This was quantified by measuring dormancy levels in L. rigidum populations collected from paired sites (one with nil to low cropping intensity, the other intensively cropped) located throughout the Western Australian grain belt.

RIM, or “Ryegrass Integrated Management,” is a user-friendly weed management software that integrates long-term economics. As a model-based decision support system, RIM enables users to easily build 10-year cropping scenarios and evaluate the impacts of management choices on annual rigid ryegrass populations and long-term profitability.

An Eleusine indica population was previously reported as the first global case of field-evolved glufosinate resistance. This study re-examines glufosinate resistance and investigates multiple resistance to other herbicides in the population.

Seed production of annual weeds persisting through cropping phases replenishes/establishes viable seed banks from which these weeds will continue to interfere with crop production. Harvest weed seed control (HWSC) systems are now viewed as an effective means of interrupting this process by targeting mature weed seed, preventing seed bank inputs.

Weed control failures due to herbicide resistance are an increasing and worldwide problem significantly impacting crop yields. Metabolism-based herbicide resistance (referred to as metabolic resistance) in weeds is not well characterized at the genetic level.