Ryegrass management in the High Rainfall Zone – What have we learnt?

This webinar was hosted by Jana Dixon, WeedSmart’s High Rainfall Zone extension agronomist.

WeedSmart Week
Just a reminder that tickets are now able to be purchased for Esperance WeedSmart Week. It’s the first time in 5 years the event will be back in WA. It’s happening from the 17th to the 19th of August 2021. WeedSmart Week is designed to engage growers and advisors on WeedSmart’s Big 6 messages. You can get your tickets here.

We feature farmer case studies from each of our mill partners, including HSD, Redekop and Seed Terminator.
The farmers we hear from are Steve Lord (Goomalling, WA – Redekop); Tyson Schutz, who is pictured above with Dad Mick (Grass Patch, WA – Seed Terminator); and Jon Beasley (Franklin River, WA – HSD).

Farmer, Steve Lord, who has a Redekop mill.

We also be hearing from Kondinin Group’s Ben White who provides us with a technical overview and details the latest updates on this technology.
WeedSmart Week
This year, our annual flagship event will be held in Esperance, WA from the 17th to the 19th of August 2021. WeedSmart Week is designed to engage growers and advisors on WeedSmart’s Big 6 messages. You can get your tickets here.
New content
Make sure you check out our latest Ask an Expert. This month Dr Chris Preston answers the question “How does ryegrass adapt so readily to farming practices and environmental changes?”
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook and also sign-up for our monthly blog. You can also subscribe to the WeedSmart Whip Around, so you never miss any of our content.
Related content
We mentioned on the podcast that Tyson Schutz’s Dad, Mick Schutz, featured in a GRDC publication entitled “Investigating the harvest weed seed control tools chaff lining and chafftramlining (chaffdeck) in the Esperance area”. Check that out here.

Over the last two years, Tim has been working on a chaff decking paddock demonstration project which has GRDC investment.
Tim provides us with an overview of what this project is all about and gives us a regional update for his region.
Resources
Video on chaff deck project 
GRDC IWM handbook
Weed management options during harvest article

WeedSmart Southern Extension Agronomist, Greg Condon, who is a big advocate of chaff decks, joins us to give us some answers!
We also hear from Northern Region grower, Chris Berry. He has had a chaff deck for a number of years and while he likes the concept of the mill, is sticking with the chaff deck for now.
Effects on paddock from using a chaff deck. Photos supplied by podcast guest, Chris Berry.
Regional Update
Our next Regional Update will come out next Monday and we’ll be hearing from Norther Region expert, Tim Bartimote. Tim is a Senior Land Services Officer in the Cropping division for NSW Central West Local Land Services.
Over the last two years, Tim has been working on a chaff decking paddock demonstration project which has GRDC investment.
New Content
We’ve got great content on the WeedSmart website for you to check!
Make sure you check out our latest Ask an Expert. It looks at how you can maximise grass weed control using hybrid canola. EPAG Research agronomist, Andrew Ware provides the answers. Read it here.
Also, don’t miss our latest Case Study on the Single family, based in Coonamble, NSW.
We also hosted a webinar last week with WeedSmart Southern Extension Agronomist Chris Davey & ICAN’s Mark Congreve. They looked at considerations for pre-emergent herbicides with dry sowing.
You can watch it here.
 

In this webinar, we focus on what factors influence the residual control of weeds by pre-emergent herbicides with a focus on Trifluralin, Sakura and new-to-market herbicides.
Join Chris Davey, YPAG and WeedSmart Extension Agronomist and Mark Congreve, ICAN Senior Agronomist as they assess the sowing issues in South Australia and discuss strategies on using pre-emergents.
Factors covered include

Soil type/texture
Rainfall forecast (after application)
Characteristics of the herbicide
Characteristics of the crop
Sowing time (tine vs disc) – sowing depth, speed, soil throw, stubble
Resistance status

GRDC Spray Application Manual
This Spray Application GrowNotes™ manual provides information on how various spraying systems and components work, along with those factors that the operator should consider to ensure the sprayer is operating to its full potential.
This manual focuses on issues that will assist in maintaining the accuracy of the sprayer output while improving the efficiency and safety of spraying operations. It contains many useful tips for your spray operations.