Grain grower perceptions and use of integrated weed management

Abstract

Greater adoption of integrated weed management, to reduce herbicide reliance, is an objective of many research and extension programmes. In Australian grain-growing regions, integrated weed management is particularly important for the management of herbicide resistance in weeds. In this study, survey data from personal interviews with 132 Western Australian grain growers are used to characterise the use and perceptions of integrated weed management practices. The main objective was to identify opportunities for improved weed management decision making, through targeted research and extension. The extent to which integrated weed management practices are used on individual farms was measured. Perceptions of the efficacy and reliability of various weed management practices were elicited for control of annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.), along with perceptions of the economic value of integrated weed management practices relative to selective herbicides. All growers were shown to be using several integrated weed management practices, although the use of some practices was strongly associated with the presence of a herbicide-resistant weed population. In general, both users and non-users were found to have high levels of awareness of integrated weed management practices and their weed control efficacy. Herbicide-based practices were perceived to be the most cost-effective. Opportunities for greater adoption of integrated weed management practices, to conserve the existing herbicide resource, exist where practices can be shown to offer greater shorter-term economic value, not necessarily just in terms of weed control, but to the broader farming system.

No-tillage adoption decisions in southern Australian cropping and the role of weed management

“…It should be recognised that only a minority of no-tillage adopters use no-tillage across their whole cropping program, with cultivation still used to some extent by most growers. Results by Llewellyn et al (2004) suggest cultivation is often used with the intention of achieving some weed control. However, in regions where the proportion of growers adopting no-tillage is increasing, the use of cultivation for weed control will be in decline.…”

Farmers' perspective on herbicide‐resistant weeds and application of resistance management strategies: results from a German survey

“…These results suggest that even farmers who have not experienced herbicide resistance on their farm hitherto show pro‐active behaviour in terms of their resistance management. This is in contrast to the general assumption that farmers tend to avoid the adoption of management strategies until the first resistant weeds are recognized on their farm . The percent of farmers using each of the ten resistance management strategies is presented in Table .…”

“…This is in contrast to the general assumption that farmers tend to avoid the adoption of management strategies until the first resistant weeds are recognized on their farm. 13,14 The percent of farmers using each of the ten resistance management strategies is presented in Table 5. The three most commonly adopted strategies were rotation of MoA over the crop rotation (89%), rotation of cereals and dicotyledonous crops (76%) and rotation of MoA within the crop (64%).…”

Weed resistance development and management in herbicide-tolerant crops: experiences from the USA

“…Surveys have been conducted to assess grower perceptions about the issues and implications of herbicide resistance, weeds, tillage, and integrated approaches for weed management Llewellyn et al 2002Llewellyn et al , 2004. For example, a robust survey conducted in six states in the USA reported that growers in the Midwest are more likely to adopt crop rotation to address weed management problems than growers in the Southeast ).…”

“…Surveys reported that in the Australian grain-growing regions, growers had awareness of HR weeds and ascribed a high economic cost to herbicide resistance (Llewellyn et al 2002). Growers in Australia were adopting IWM and perceived that these tactics had economic value (Llewellyn et al 2004). However, practices that included alternative herbicides were perceived to have the highest economic return on investment and growers felt that a stock of new herbicides would be developed in the short term to better manage the building HR weed populations (Llewellyn et al 2002(Llewellyn et al , 2004.…”