Title: Research finds uncontrolled summer weeds hit wheat yields
[RIRDC e-News July 2011] -- Failure to control summer weeds could cost Victorian wheat growers up to one tonne per hectare in lost crop yields annually due to reduced soil moisture. The finding was made by the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) as part of a research project funded by the Australian Government’s National Weeds and Productivity Research Program. This project was one of 39 funded in Phase 1 of the program, which was managed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) from 2008 to 2010. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) is now publishing these final reports as part of its management of Phase 2 of the program.
BCG research agronomist Harm van Rees found that wheat crops planted in Mallee paddocks where summer weeds were left uncontrolled averaged 2.8t/ha, compared with 3.8t/ha in paddocks where summer weeds had been treated. The full summer weeds research report, as well as other reports from the Phase 1 DAFF research projects, are available on the RIRDC website.