Australia
February 13, 2013
Western Australia’s intensive cropping systems have led to wild radish becoming the number one weed issue in the State's grainbelt.
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GRDC funded research is quantifying the extent of the wild radish problem and developing management systems to lower the weed’s on-farm seedbank.
Additionally, there has been an increase in the prevalence of flaxleaf fleabane.
The new Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Ground Cover magazine supplement Emerging issues with diseases, weeds and pests provides details of what is being done to manage threats such as these and to alert Australian cropping regions of emerging issues.
GRDC plant health senior manager Rohan Rainbow said several significant crop protection issues had emerged over the past few years, and to counter them a concerted research, development and extension effort was well underway to help growers and the broader grains industry manage the risks.
“This includes the GRDC commissioning independent peer reviewed research to understand how crop pests, weeds and diseases have changed over time and to quantify their impact on crop production,” Dr Rainbow said.
The supplement Emerging issues with diseases, weeds and pests was included in the January-February edition of Ground Cover and is available for free download at www.grdc.com.au/GCS102