Read time: 3 minutes

Preserving herbicide chemistry long-term

Herbicide resistance is challenging growers and agronomists as they plan weed management programs to make the most of both old and new chemistry.

Ed Nixon, general manager of AGRIvision Consultants, says northern Mallee growers still have the chance to preserve older herbicides and keep as much diversity in the program as possible.

“In the Victorian Mallee, over time grain growers are coming up against new weed challenges as our farming systems and control methods select for different weeds and resistance to herbicides,” says Ed. “We know that the routine use of any herbicide mode of action inevitably leads to resistance and that diversity in both herbicide and non-herbicide tactics is the best way to manage weeds.”

Knowing what chemistry is working now and what is falling over is invaluable information when planning future herbicide programs.

Ed says most growers are also managing a significant chemical budget, and keeping old chemistry ‘in the mix’ is an important component of maintaining cost-effective solutions, while accepting that using some new chemistry for long-term sustainability and profitability is inevitable.

Growers like Bec Marshall, who farms a diverse cropping program of wheat, barley, hay (vetch and oaten), lentils, canola and irrigated faba beans at Normanville uses multiple tactics such as haymaking, double knocking and crop-topping to stop weed seed set.

Wade Nickolls is another grower taking a diverse approach to managing weeds on their 8000 ha family farm at Pinaroo. The Nickolls family takes an ‘everything – including the kitchen sink’ approach that includes using impact mills for harvest weed seed control, diverse herbicide use, legume break crops, deep ripping, variable rate technology and hay making to keep weed numbers low.

Pinaroo grain grower, Wade Nickolls takes an takes an ‘everything – including the kitchen sink’ approach to keeping weed numbers low.

Listen to these presenters and more from WeedSmart Week 2022 Mildura.

Related Articles

Related Articles

View all
Article
News

Refining the double-break tactic

The Curr family, Trundle NSW include a double break in their crop rotation and observe multiple benefits to their cropping system. Read More...
Case Study
Case Study

Rhys and Joel Curr, Trundle NSW

The Curr family, Trundle NSW are implementing an integrated weed management strategy as they expand their area of cropland. Read More...
Article
Ask an Expert

Can increasing wheat sowing rate maintain yield and suppress weeds in low rainfall areas

A clear learning from these trials is that growers should increase sowing rates to establish 70+ plants/m2, even in lower rainfall years. Read More...

Webinars

View all
Video
Webinar

Managing fenceline weeds (and avoiding resistance!)

Jana Freebairn to discuss fence line weed resistance trends, and how they are best managed through herbicide and non-herbicide options. Read More...
Video
Webinar

Achieve effective pre-em weed control while protecting the crop at seeding

Greg Condon discusses the role of pre-emergent herbicides with ICAN's herbicide technology expert Mark Congreve and FMC's tech specialist Mark Yerbury. Read More...
Video
Webinar

Spot Spray Technology — advantages & opportunities incorporating the latest camera/optical spray equipment

We discussed the latest spot spray technology on offer. Read More...

Videos

View all
Video
Video

Targetted tillage for inter-row weed control

Inter-row targetted tillage prototype reveal, Mar 2025, featuring the research team: Dr Michael Walsh, Dr Stuart Watt and Dr Andrew Guzzomi. Read More...
Video
Webinar

Managing fenceline weeds (and avoiding resistance!)

Jana Freebairn to discuss fence line weed resistance trends, and how they are best managed through herbicide and non-herbicide options. Read More...
Video
Webinar

Achieve effective pre-em weed control while protecting the crop at seeding

Greg Condon discusses the role of pre-emergent herbicides with ICAN's herbicide technology expert Mark Congreve and FMC's tech specialist Mark Yerbury. Read More...

Factsheets

View all
Fact Sheet

Adjuvants – Oils, surfactants and other additives for farm chemicals

Spray adjuvants are used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural chemical application. Read More...
Fact Sheet

Hazardous inversions and spray drift

Current regulations prohibit spraying of agricultural chemicals when hazardous temperature inversions exist. Read More...
Fact Sheet

Understanding pre-emergent herbicides and how they interact with the environment

Understand the chemical properties of pre-emergent herbicides and how they interact with the environment. Read More...

Subscribe to the WeedSmart Newsletter