Clean borders – avoid evolving resistance on the fenceline
Herbicide resistance is frequently identified first along borders such as fencelines, roadways and around farm infrastructure, where herbicide use tends to be the same year in year out and often, less attention is paid to herbicide efficacy or survivor weeds.
This can be a high-risk practice unless survivors are removed after every spray application as there is no crop competition to restrict weed growth, resulting in the production of large volumes of seed.
About one-quarter of glyphosate-resistant populations within broadacre cropping situations across Australia come from fencelines and other non-cropping areas of the farm.
Along paddock borders, where there is no crop competition, weeds can flourish and, if not controlled, set lots of seed. The traditional approach has been to treat these weeds with glyphosate to keep borders clean but after 20-odd years this option is now failing and paddock borders are becoming a significant source of glyphosate-resistant weed seed.
Weed researcher Eric Koetz said the limited options for managing weeds along irrigation infrastructure and other non-crop areas is a problem and is putting additional pressure on knock-down herbicides in irrigated systems.
In some situations, cultivation can be used to kill the weeds and provide a firebreak, but on light soils this may pose an erosion risk and mowing or slashing may be safer options. Another possible tactic is to continue using herbicides but to ensure that a clean-up operation is carried out before any survivors can set seed.
Some growers are choosing to increase the heat on weeds along the borders by planting the crop right to the fence and then baling the outside lap and spraying with a knockdown herbicide to kill any weeds and provide a firebreak.
Another good option in some situations is to maintain a healthy border of vegetation using non-invasive grasses. In Queensland, buffel grass is a good example of a grass that can outcompete other weeds while not invading crop lands.
If only herbicides are used on fencelines, resistance is inevitable. Surviving weeds on fencelines have no competition and access to plenty of soil moisture, so they set a lot of seed and resistance can easily flow into neighbouring paddocks.
Other resources
Other resources- It’s time for a glyphosate intervention
- Farm hygiene cottons on – Cleave Rogan, St George
- What’s new in management of herbicide resistant weeds on fencelines?
- Keeping the farm clean – Graham Clapham, Norwin
- Don’t jeopardise glyphosate for clean fencelines
- Keeping fencelines clean
- Resistance risk to knock-down herbicides on irrigated cotton farms
