Weed management in wide-row cropping systems: a review of current practices and risks for Australian farming systems

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Contents Vol 60(5)

doi:10.1071/CP08130

Weed management in wide-row cropping systems: a review of current practices and risks for Australian farming systems

S. C. Peltzer ^A ^I, A. Hashem ^B, V. A. Osten ^C, M. L. Gupta ^D, A. J. Diggle ^E, G. P. Riethmuller ^F, A. Douglas ^G, J. M. Moore ^A, E. A. Koetz ^H

^A Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 444 Albany Highway, Albany, WA 6330, Australia.
^B Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, PO Box 484, Northam, WA 6401, Australia.
^C Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, LMB 6 Emerald, Qld 4720, Australia.
^D School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia.
^E Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Locked Bag 4, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia.
^F Dryland Institute, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Great Eastern Highway, Merredin, WA 6415, Australia.
^G Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 10 Dore St, Katanning, WA 6317, Australia.
^H EH Graham Centre, NSW DPI, Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia.
^I Corresponding author. Email: speltzer@agric.wa.gov.au





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Crop and Pasture Science 60(5) 395–406 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/CP08130
Submitted: 18 April 2008 Accepted: 6 March 2009 Published online: 14 May 2009

Abstract

Growing agricultural crops in wide row spacings has been widely adopted to conserve water, to control pests and diseases, and to minimise problems associated with sowing into stubble. The development of herbicide resistance combined with the advent of precision agriculture has resulted in a further reason for wide row spacings to be adopted: weed control. Increased row spacing enables two different methods of weed control to be implemented with non-selective chemical and physical control methods utilised in the wide inter-row zone, with or without selective chemicals used on the on-row only. However, continual application of herbicides and tillage on the inter-row zone brings risks of herbicide resistance, species shifts and/or changes in species dominance, crop damage, increased costs, yield losses, and more expensive weed management technology.