Former Beef+Lamb NZ CEO appointed head of Foundation for Arable Research
Former chief executive of Beef+Lamb New Zealand Scott Champion will head the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) from July.
Initial results from the first national survey of herbicide resistance in arable farming have shown surprising resistance to glyphosate.
Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) senior research advisor Phil Rolston says nine of the 48 farms sampled – nearly 19% -- showed some resistance to glyphosate.
“We had some haloxyfop and pinoxaden resistance turning up, and that’s not a surprise because we’ve had farmers self-reporting some problems before. But finding glyphosate turning up on some of them was a surprise.”
The MBIE funded survey is a five year project in which FAR takes weed seed samples from farms randomly chosen from its database, and the samples are germinated then tested against a variety of herbicides by AgResearch Ruakura.
The survey started last summer on farms between the Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers. FAR staff collected wild oat, brome and ryegrass plants from wheat and clover paddocks on the 48 farms, which represent about 20% of all cropping farms in the district.
Resistance has so far been identified in ryegrass on 13 of the farms (27%).
No resistance was found in any of the bromes and the results from the wild oat testing are not yet available.
The survey showed a wide range of resistance, Rolston says.
“Some farms showed [resistance in] more than 90% of the plants being tested, but others were down as low as 5%.”
The survey identified ryegrass resistant to Group A, Group B and Group G herbicides. Group A includes clethodim, haloxyfop-P and pinoxaden. Group B includes iodosulfuron-methyl and pyroxsulam. Group G is glyphosate.
“The results of this survey, particularly on glyphosate resistance, are causing us some concern,” said Rolston.
“We are now working to understand how to manage such resistance on cropping farms.”
The survey will probably move into South Canterbury next summer and Ashburton district the year after. It should eventually cover all major cropping districts including in the North Island.
The facts
What to do if you are concerned about resistance on your farm:
❱❱ Check paddocks after herbicide application and remove any plants which have ‘escaped’ treatment
❱❱ Do not allow any ‘escaped’ plants to go to seed
❱❱ Contact your agrichemical rep or FAR if you believe that ‘escapes’ are the result of resistance, rather than application conditions
❱❱ Consider the use of non-chemical weed control.
Groundswell is ramping up its 'Quit Paris' campaign with signs going up all over the country.
Some farmers in the Nelson region are facing up to five years of hard work to repair their damaged properties caused by the recent devastating floods.
Federated Farmers is joining major industry-good bodies in not advocating for the Government to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…