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Broadacre farmers fighting wild oats should try an alternative chemical group on their paddocks to break the weed’s increasingly stubborn resistance to Group A herbicides, according to James Redfern, R&D Officer (Central NSW), Nufarm Australia Limited.
Uncontrolled, wild oats can result in up to 50% yield losses, with NSW Department of Agriculture sources estimating 10% of properties north of Dubbo now shows signs of Group A herbicide resistance.
Regarded by scientists and agronomists as the most difficult-to-control weed in the northern cropping zone and second only to annual ryegrass in the southern cropping zone, wild oats is estimated to cost the Australian wheat industry $80 million annually.Wild oats has gained a foothold partly because of the prolonged reliance year after year on Group A chemicals, to which many of the popular brands belong, says Mr Redfern.
“When repeatedly treated with a product from the same chemical group, any weed will develop resistance over time,” said Mr Redfern.
“It follows that when a paddock has a history of Group A treatment, it would be wise to use products from an alternative chemical group to break the resistance cycle.”
One of the more successful and trusted Group E products available to growers is Avadex Xtra, a soil-applied pre-emergent herbicide manufactured by Nufarm Australia Limited.
Avadex Xtra’s greatest strength is continued, reliable effectiveness against wild oats as a pre-emergent herbicide in the face of growing resistance to Group A post-emergent herbicides in major cropping areas.
No case of wild oats resistance to Avadex Xtra has been recorded in Australia.
The superior performance of pre-emergent herbicides over post-emergent is well documented. On-farm trials have shown that Avadex Xtra will deliver up to a 10% yield increase compared with post-emergent alternatives, translating into a profit increase of up to 20% in the pockets of growers.
“Pre-emergent herbicides maximise crop yields because they eliminate competition for water and nutrients from highly competitive weeds such as wild oats, during the early and critical yield-setting stages of crop development,” said Mr Redfern.
“It’s crucial to have a product like Avadex Xtra already in place and at work before this period begins – in the first six to eight weeks after emergence.
“Avadex Xtra pre-emergent action eliminates competition from wild oats while the coleoptiles are still underground, before the weed gets a chance to compete with the crop for moisture and nutrients. Less competition in this early stage helps maximise crop yield.
“The product’s mode of action makes it highly compatible with Nufarm’s annual ryegrass control, TriflurX, as well as sulfonylureas and glyphosates such as the proven Roundup range.
“Avadex Xtra gives excellent control of deep germinating weeds in the soil profile. And the root uptake from TriflurX provides effective control on many of the shallower germinating weeds such as annual ryegrass.”
6-Nov-2006
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