Harvest weed seed control

Capture weed seed survivors at harvest using chaff lining, chaff tramlining, chaff carts, narrow windrow burning or weed seed impact mill. There are currently six Harvest Weed Seed Control (HWSC) tools being used by Australian grain growers. All remove weed seeds at harvest but they come at a different capital cost, running cost and cost of nutrient removal. To compare these tools we must first consider the running cost, and then add the nutrient cost to get a realistic comparison.

Resources:

  • WeedSmart’s Peter Newman has also put together a model on HWSC so you can calculate the cost of different HWSC options on your farm. Download the model.
  • You can learn more about harvest weed seed control in our Diversity Era course, Harvest Weed Seed Control 101.
  • Access two of the Kondinin Group’s Research Reports on mill technology by clicking on the images below.

Narrow Windrow Burning

This option is relatively easy to adopt and has good results for farmers. Some of the downsides to this option include it being time-consuming; the high level of nutrient removal and the risk of fire escapes to name a few.

Download CAD design for NWB chute.

Learn more about Narrow Windrow Burning

View all resources
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Chaff Cart

Chaff carts are towed behind harvesters at harvest with the aim of collecting the chaff fraction as it exits the harvester. There are a number of options to manage the chaff, including burning it or placing it in chaff dumps to be used as livestock fee

Learn More About Chaff Carts

View all resources
Article
Article Nov 18, 2022

How does crop competition support other weed control tactics?

Crop competition is a quiet achiever in weed control that also has a synergistic effect when applied with other tactics. Read More
Article
Article Oct 10, 2022

Can collecting weed seed make me money at harvest?

Setting up your header to minimise grain losses will also maximise weed seed capture a win-win for farm profitability. Read More
Article
Article Aug 16, 2022

Australian grain growers tackle herbicide resistance

Australian grain growers are responding to the challenge of increasing herbicide resistance in weeds through the adoption of IWM practices. Read More
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Article Apr 08, 2022

Aussie HWSC innovation goes global

When Australian farmers and researchers began using harvest weed seed control, it kick-started a revolution in weed management. Read More

Bale Direct

The Glenvar Bale Direct System was developed by the Shields family at Wongan Hills. Essentially, it consists of a large square baler directly attached to the harvester that produces bales from the chaff and straw residues at harvest.

Learn More About Bale Direct

View all resources
Article
Article Nov 18, 2022

How does crop competition support other weed control tactics?

Crop competition is a quiet achiever in weed control that also has a synergistic effect when applied with other tactics. Read More
Article
Article Oct 10, 2022

Can collecting weed seed make me money at harvest?

Setting up your header to minimise grain losses will also maximise weed seed capture a win-win for farm profitability. Read More
Article
Article Aug 16, 2022

Australian grain growers tackle herbicide resistance

Australian grain growers are responding to the challenge of increasing herbicide resistance in weeds through the adoption of IWM practices. Read More
Article
Article Apr 08, 2022

Aussie HWSC innovation goes global

When Australian farmers and researchers began using harvest weed seed control, it kick-started a revolution in weed management. Read More

Impact Mills

Impact mills pulverise the entire chaff fraction, destroying 85% to 98% of the weed seeds that enter the impact mill.

Learn More About Impact Mills

View all resources
Audio
Podcast

S08E03: Regional Update – Mark Habner, Nutrien Cummins Ag Services Agronomist, SA

On this Regional Update, we catch up with Nutrien Cummins Ag Services Agronomist, Mark Habner about the increased update of weed seed impact mills in his region. Read More
Audio
Podcast

S07E23: Dealing with a wet harvest

In this episode, we catch-up with an expert from each cropping region in the eastern states to get insights on dealing with a wet harvest.  Read More
Article
Article Nov 18, 2022

How does crop competition support other weed control tactics?

Crop competition is a quiet achiever in weed control that also has a synergistic effect when applied with other tactics. Read More
Article
Article Oct 10, 2022

Can collecting weed seed make me money at harvest?

Setting up your header to minimise grain losses will also maximise weed seed capture a win-win for farm profitability. Read More

Chaff Tramlining

Chaff tramline machines, like the EMAR chaff deck, are used in controlled traffic farming systems to divert the chaff fraction (containing weed seeds) onto permanent tramlines.

Learn More About Chaff Tramlining

View all resources
Article
Article Nov 18, 2022

How does crop competition support other weed control tactics?

Crop competition is a quiet achiever in weed control that also has a synergistic effect when applied with other tactics. Read More
Article
Article Oct 10, 2022

Can collecting weed seed make me money at harvest?

Setting up your header to minimise grain losses will also maximise weed seed capture a win-win for farm profitability. Read More
Article
Article Aug 16, 2022

Australian grain growers tackle herbicide resistance

Australian grain growers are responding to the challenge of increasing herbicide resistance in weeds through the adoption of IWM practices. Read More
Article
Article Apr 08, 2022

Aussie HWSC innovation goes global

When Australian farmers and researchers began using harvest weed seed control, it kick-started a revolution in weed management. Read More

Chaff lining

This cheap and simple solution involves creating a chaff chute which is attached to the back of the harvester to divert the chaff fraction (containing weed seeds) in a narrow row at the centre of the harvester instead of onto the tramlines, meaning it can also be used in non-CTF farming systems.

Learn More About Chaff Lining

View all resources
Article
Article Nov 18, 2022

How does crop competition support other weed control tactics?

Crop competition is a quiet achiever in weed control that also has a synergistic effect when applied with other tactics. Read More
Article
Article Oct 10, 2022

Can collecting weed seed make me money at harvest?

Setting up your header to minimise grain losses will also maximise weed seed capture a win-win for farm profitability. Read More
Article
Article Aug 16, 2022

Australian grain growers tackle herbicide resistance

Australian grain growers are responding to the challenge of increasing herbicide resistance in weeds through the adoption of IWM practices. Read More
Article
Article Apr 08, 2022

Aussie HWSC innovation goes global

When Australian farmers and researchers began using harvest weed seed control, it kick-started a revolution in weed management. Read More

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