RESEARCH & EVENTS
WeedSmart Week showcases weed management solutions
ABOVE: Spayer demonstrations were a feature of the WeedSmart Week visit to GO. FARM’ s Nericon orchard.
RIGHT: ABA Industry Development Officer Peter Reynolds was a speaker at WeedSmart week in the Riverina.
INNOVATIONS in irrigated weed management were showcased during WeedSmart Week in the Riverina. The three day event was held in Griffith from August 18- 20. WeedSmart is an industry co-operative communications and education program established by the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, based at The University of Western Australia. The forum on day one attracted 270 people from across Australia. Farm tours and a machinery expo were held on day two, while optional study tours were offered on day three. The first stop on the irrigated study tour was GO. FARM’ s Nericon orchard followed by the NSW DPIRD Centre for Irrigated Agriculture at Hanwood. Almond Board of Australia Riverina Industry Development Officer Peter Reynolds participated in two panel discussions about:
• cover cropping and other weed control tips to integrate into orchards
• stopping weed seed set, area wide weed management, tracks and channels
Other key themes discussed during the morning included autonomous spraying, optical spot spraying, orchard planning for low weed seed banks and optimising spray efficacy. Further details about the herbicide, mechanical and cultural tactics that can be used to control crop weeds can be found on the WeedSmart website.
industry. australianalmonds. com. au
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