AHRI Snapshots

In this episode of AHRI Snapshots, we catch up with an international guest. Dr Juan Vorster is an Associate Professor in Plant and Soil Sciences from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.Juan is studying herbicide resistance mechanisms in weeds and the development of effective management strategies for these weeds.He's currently in Perth for a conference, so it's a great opportunity to have a chat and learn more about his research. To learn more about Juan's research, visit the University of Pretoria's website. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

In this AHRI Snapshots, we catch up with Principal Research fellow, Dr Qin Yu about her latest paper on glyphosate resistance in goosegrass. This paper was published in Nature Communications in August 2023, which is an impressive achievement. This paper is complicated, but essentially the researchers have found a hot spot on the genome of goosegrass that is a herbicide resistance generator.In this research, the team found that in glyphosate-resistant goosegrass the EPSPS gene was translocated to the sub-telomer region and duplicated many times there, leading to glyphosate resistance occurring.This work is useful not only in resistance gene discovery, but also in the development of gene-based next generation herbicides, like RNAi, as well as genetic reversal of resistance.It will also contribute to studying the weediness and adaptation of this global weed species.  Paper: ‘Subtelomeric 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase copy number variation confers glyphosate resistance in Eleusine indica'You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

Over the last few years, the AHRI agronomy team has done extensive work looking at crop competition in hybrid and open-pollinated canola.Project lead, Dr Mike Ashworth, joins us on this podcast to discuss the findings on ideal seeding rate, variety, row spacing and seed size.Herbicides are currently working quite well in canola. We know that herbicide resistance is a real threat though, so we discuss what the current trends are in herbicide use in canola crops and what growers need to do to mitigate herbicide resistance. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

In this episode, we catch up with visiting Associate Professor Todd Gaines. Todd is from Colorado State University and is currently working from UWA with AHRI.  In September, he'll be at the International Plant and Animal Genome Australia conference in Perth city, where he's organising a two-hour session of invited talks. Todd is also organising a subsequent workshop at UWA on September 22nd, which will have the theme “We have weed genomes, but what do we do now?” While herbicides are the most effective and widely adopted weed management practice, the evolution of multiple herbicide resistance in damaging weed species threatens the yield and profitability of many crops.Todd is an expert in how genomics and molecular biology can contribute to improving weed management. He'll explain what the focus will be at these upcoming events in this chat. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

Blue lupins are notorious for being difficult to control and plants produce prolific seed banks.  Blue lupins are closely related to the domesticated narrow-leaf lupin, also known as the white lupin, so whichever herbicide is survived by white lupins is also survived by blue lupins. This is problematic as they look alike. This is where a team of researchers from AHRI and the Centre for Applied Bioinformatics at the University of Western Australia, led by UWA PhD candidate and Forrest Research Scholar, Monica Danilevicz comes in.The team has recently taken the approach of using weed labelling and deep learning algorithms to see if they can distinguish between the two lupin species in images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles, known as UAVs, like drones, or ground-based cameras.  The aim is to detect and spray just the blue lupins in crop.  Monica explains the results further in this chat.Links Paper: Segmentation of Sandplain Lupin Weeds from Morphologically Similar Narrow-Leafed Lupins in the Field Code repositoryImage repositoryCentre for Applied Bioinformatics Follow Monica on Twitter hereGithub You can also read more about the research in the AHRI insight hereYou can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

In this interview we chat with AHRI Research Officer Roberto Lujan Rocha about the survey work he has conducted on the quality of water sourced on farm for spray application. This project is a collaboration between University of Western Australia, AHRI and the Centre for Water & Spatial Science. The team looked at water from bores, dams, desalinated water, rainwater tanks and scheme water.  Roberto surveyed water sources in the mid to south West Australian wheatbelt in September 2022 and has recently completed surveys of water sources in the Merredin area of Western Australia. So why is this survey work important? Well, when it comes to optimising spray efficacy, water quality is an integral component. Roberto's initial survey showed that some water sources might fall outside the ideal ranges to ensure good spray application.He  explains the survey results in detail in this chat. LinksProject factsheet GRDC spray water quality factsheet WeedSmart 'Optimise Spray Efficacy' Big 6 principleYou can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

As reliance on pre-emergent herbicides for both broadleaf and grass species is increasing, it's essential to understand the dynamics of weed-herbicide interactions in the field. Dr Mahima Krishnan and her colleagues from University of Adelaide are in the process of studying populations of summer weeds to help predict and then mitigate any future resistance that maybe develop by implementing appropriate herbicide application strategies. This is a project funded by GRDC and in collaboration with AHRI and University of Adelaide. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

On this episode of AHRI Snapshots, we're catching up with former AHRI master's student Geide Figueiredo (also known as JD) who worked alongside AHRI researcher Roberto Busi to try and break the herbicide cinmethylin, commercially known as Luximax. Fortunately, they weren't able to break it, which is  great news for farmers and agronomists because it means that this herbicide is still working and resistance hasn't developed. However, it's always important to remember there's no guarantee that resistance won't develop, and the best way to prevent that is by using diverse weed control tactics. You can read the AHRI insight and find the paper on this research here. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

In this interview, AHRI's Jessica Strauss chats with Dr Aimone Porri, who is the Laboratory Head for Herbicide Target and Weed Resistance Research at BASF, based in Germany. Aimone's work spans across several fields in the weeds resistance research space, including working as a Geneticist, Molecular Biologist, and Plant Biologist. At the time of this chat, he was  in Australia visiting AHRI. Aimone has collaborated with AHRI for several years. We talk about some of the significant work he has done, including , working on pyroxasulfone resistance in ryegrass, as well as work on cinmethylin and multiple herbicide resistant ryegrass. We also chat about his current work in the weed resistance space, including his current paper on PPO mutations.  You can follow Aimone on Twitter here. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

In our first episode back for AHRI Snapshots this year, we chat with Dr Hira Shaukat, who previously was an AHRI PhD candidate.  Hira worked on 3D mapping of soil moisture throughout her PhD. Part of her work involved looking at how farmers could utilise degraded land affected by salinity. This involved figuring out what soil conditions would be suit the plant Leptospermum nitens. Nectar from this plant is a source of high-value medicinal honey production and can provide income from agriculturally marginal lands. This is a deviation a bit away from the themes of weed control we usually cover in this podcast, however, looking at farming systems holistically is important. Land not suitable for crops can be a haven for weeds to proliferate, which in turn can end up in the crop. Planting a valuable species like Leptospermum nitens can provide an additional income source, and reduce the land availability for weeds to grow. Hira chats to us about her findings, as well as the other applications 3D mapping can provide growers. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

This month on the podcast, we're going to be finding out about the upcoming Herbicide Discovery and Development Conference, which is happening from January 18 to 20, 2023 at Curtin University. Due to genetic resistance to many of the most used herbicides, the need for new ones is greater than ever. This conference invites you to be part of the solution!University of Mississippi Adjunct Research Professor, Steve Duke, will be the keynote speaker on Thursday January 19. He'll be talking on “Molecular targets of herbicides and insecticides – are there overlaps that can be useful?” He joins us on this podcast to discuss what he'll be presenting on and gives an overview on what to expect from the conference. You can get your tickets for the conference here. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

On AHRI Snapshots this month, we have an exciting episode, as we catch up with AHRI's incoming Director, Associate Professor Ken Flower. Ken would be familiar to listeners as he's been involved in AHRI projects for several years, contributing his substantial knowledge in no-till and agronomy to the AHRI Agronomy team.He has a broad farming systems skillset, including in conservation farming and no-till systems, agronomy and cropping systems, precision agriculture, and weed control.  Ken's vision for AHRI is to develop cropping systems with reduced dependence on herbicides for weed control. In this chat, we hear more about Ken's background and what his plans are as AHRI Director when he formally begins his role in January. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow is the theme of the upcoming Crop Protection Forum in Wagga Wagga next month.In this AHRI Snapshots, we catch up with event organiser,  Dr Lizzy Lowe, who is the Senior Extension Scientist for Cesar Australia. This event is held annually, with this year's partners being The Centre of Crop Disease Management (CCDM), the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI), and The University of Melbourne with support from the GRDC.Attendees will hear from Australia's leading experts on insecticide, fungicide, and herbicide resistance at the upcoming Forum, which will be held on the 16th of November, at the Riverina Playhouse theatre in Wagga. The latest research in weeds, disease, and insect resistance will be covered through presentations, panels and Q & A. You can find out more about this event and buy your ticket here. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

In this AHRI Snapshots we catch up with Dr Martin Vila-Aiub, who was co-author on a recent publication that our latest AHRI insight covers.  It's all about how highly glyphosate resistant plants can't compete.AHRI researchers recently teamed up with Martin, who is based in Argentina and other researchers from Brazil to investigate the combination of crop competition and glyphosate on glyphosate-resistant goosegrass. Competition alone from Soybeans reduced the growth of plants with the TIPS mutation by 95%, and the addition of glyphosate actually made these plants grow a little better!You can also read the publication for this work here.  

AHRI's Dr Roberto Busi talks about his finding of velocity resistant wild radish in this podcast. It's not great news for growers – but knowledge is power.  At the end of 2019, Roberto Busi started a new herbicide resistance testing service based at UWA. Growers and agronomists sent in about 500 samples of ryegrass for testing as well as 121 samples of wild radish. Two of these wild radish populations, sampled by agronomists, had survivors to Velocity® and Roberto embarked on extensive glasshouse and field testing.Resistance testing and using diverse tactics, as found in the WeedSmart Big 6, continues to be key in preserving chemistries into the long-term. Take a listen and to learn more, check out the AHRI insight here. 

In this episode, we're catching up with former AHRI PhD candidate, Nooshin Shahbazi, who is officially now a doctor, after her successful PhD completion.   Nooshin's thesis is entitled “Use of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to detect and map weeds that grow taller than crops at harvest”. We're hear from Nooshin on her thesis findings and what the future might hold for LiDAR in weed detection in crops. 

AHRI's Dr Mechelle Owen has been collating data from the 2020 random resistance survey. This is part of a national project, with investment from GRDC.Mechelle has been conducting these random surveys for a number of years and so she shares some of the trends in this interview she has identified from the 2015 survey results compared to these latest preliminary results from Western Australia. Some of the results available and shared in this interview include the resistance status of barley grass, brome grass and wild radish. One of the trends Mechelle identified was the spread of SU resistance in brome grass. Initially resistance was only picked up in the northern agricultural region in WA. In 2015, this resistance spread further south into the central and southern regions. This trend was again picked up in the latest 2020 data. To hear more details about the results and trends, take a listen!

On this edition of AHRI Snapshots, we catch up with Professor Hugh Beckie, for the final time! Hugh is retiring from the role of AHRI Director at the end of this month. Hugh has has worked in the field of herbicide resistance for more than 30 years and has been leading AHRI research as Director since 2018 after moving to Australia from his home country of Canada.In this episode, we look back on what Hugh is most proud  of during his time as AHRI Director. 

In this episode of AHRI Snapshots, we're catching up with AHRI's Dr Danica Goggin about her latest paper which looks at cinmethylin metabolism in annual ryegrass. Cinmethylin is a relatively new pre-emergent herbicide to Australian cereal cropping farming systems. While there hasn't been any confirmed resistance of annual ryegrass to cinmethylin, there has been some populations which have had reduced sensitivity to it. Danica joins us to explain what the paper authors found the cause to be of this reduced sensitivity and what this means for its use in the field. You can read the paper in full here. 

In this interview, we catch up with AHRI Senior Agronomy Researcher, Roberto Lujan Rocha to talk about his latest publication he worked on with Aniruddha Maity, who briefly worked at AHRI just before the pandemic. This study, entitled Concurrent evolution of seed dormancy and herbicide resistance in field populations of dominant weed species in Western Australian cropping systems, evaluates the interaction among developing herbicide resistance, seed size and seed dormancy in three weed species in Western Australia. You can follow Aniruddha Maity and Roberto Lujan Rocha on Twitter by clicking on their names. 

For the first time in Western Australia, annual ryegrass from a cropped paddock was found to be resistant to glyphosate and paraquat (among other modes of action).AHRI Senior Research Fellow Dr Roberto Busi joins us on the podcast today to give an overview of this finding as a pre-cursor to an upcoming WeedSmart webinar.In this webinar,  he will present the preliminary results he obtained in recent glasshouse trials, which aimed to characterise the resistance.Farmanco Agronomist Consultant Brent Pritchard will provide some context on how this resistance evolved in the field.Roberto will conduct two field trials in 2022. He will explain what treatments he's planning to test, and attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback on those treatment options.You can register for this webinar which is occurring on March 30 by clicking on this link.

Glufosinate is an important and widely used non-selective herbicide active on a wide range of plant species. Resistance evolution to glufosinate in weedy plant species, including the global weed Eleusine indica, commonly known as goosegrass, is underway. At AHRI, Principal Research Fellow, Qin Yu and her team established the molecular basis of target-site glufosinate resistance in goosegrass.  In this first AHRI Snapshots podcast for 2022, Qin Yu joins us to explain the results in the paper: A naturally evolved mutation (Ser-59-Gly) in glutamine synthetase confers glufosinate resistance in plants. This work reveals a naturally evolving point mutation in glutamine synthetase that confers resistance to glufosinate in Eleusine indica, known as goosegrass. 

This is the last AHRI Snapshots for 2021! What a year it has been. In this episode we're catching up with AHRI Director, Hugh Beckie to go over the highlights from AHRI this year.We'll also get an update on what the plans are for AHRI in 2022. This is now our 6th season of the podcast. Thank you for listening  this year and we look forward to bringing you more AHRI Snapshots in 2022!Top AHRI insightsMixtures rock! Next level resistance testing tells a big storyWe've cracked the P450 codeWorld first: glyphosate resistant capeweedRyegrass resists Sakura® the same way wheat does2,4-D synergises metribuzinTop AHRI Snapshots podcastsFarmer Daniel Birch explains how resistance testing has helped in his planningMixing herbicides could be the answer to Sakura® resistant ryegrassNew recruit, Dr Candy Taylor, explains how she'll be tackling auxinic herbicide resistance researchHow the Area Wide Management project will increase our understanding of weed issuesAHRI on show at WeedSmart Week & research update

We've got exciting news! AHRI is getting a new website next week!AHRI Communications Officer, Jessica Scholle joins me on the podcast today to chat about this new development and we also give a broader communications update on AHRI.You might've noticed we've been getting to know our AHRI researchers better through videos. We talk about the strategy behind this.We also keep you in the loop with developments on our online courses through Diversity Era.To ensure you're seeing the latest from AHRI, make sure you're following us on Twitter here. You can do our latest updated course, HWSC 101 here. And sign-up to our monthly blog, AHRI insight, here. 

In this interview, we're catching up with PhD candidate, Hira Shaukat. Hira's first paper has just been published in the Agriculture Water Management Journal. It's entitled “Quasi-3D mapping of soil moisture in agricultural fields using electrical conductivity sensing”.  The soil moisture measurement technique described in this paper has proven to be more efficient and accurate than other previous methods used. Hira joins us today to provide an insight into her PhD project and how this new soil moisture measurement technique described in her first paper will help farmers gather more accurate and helpful data and make more informed decisions about their farming inputs like seeding rates and fertiliser inputs. One of Hira's supervisors is Dr Ken Flower, who sits within the AHRI team and works closely with our researchers. We're excited to report on the first paper from Hira Shaukat and congratulate her on some very interesting and practical results. LinksPaper: Quasi-3D mapping of soil moisture in agricultural fields using electrical conductivity sensingTwitter: Hira Shaukat, Ken Flower

The Crop Protection Forum is next week in Launceston, Tasmania!In its 7th year, the AHRI, CCDM and Cesar Australia Crop Protection Forum will showcase the latest weeds, pests and disease research for riding out the inevitable storm of chemical resistance.Our experts will explore the implications and solutions for reducing resistance in Tasmanian cropping systems.In this podcast episode, Mark Gibberd from CCDM, Hugh Beckie from AHRI and Joshua Thia from University of Melbourne, representing Cesar Australia, provide a snapshot of what to expect at the forum. Tickets are still available and you can get all the information for the event here. 

In this podcast, we catch up with AHRI Agronomy Researcher Dr Yaseen Khalil about some of the key findings from two of his recent studies. We learn about the effectiveness of different weed control tacts in serradella, which is a legume pasture species. We  also  learn about how pasture phase farming can be used to reduce the annual ryegrass seed bank in a serradella crop.Yaseen's project is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, which invests $1.5 million in AHRI each year to ensure Australian grain growers have access to world class research in strategies to mitigate weeds and control herbicide resistance.

On today's AHRI Snapshots, we're catching up with previous AHRI Masters student Martina Badano.Martina worked with Dr Roberto Busi back in 2019 on rapid on-farm testing.Her paper “Rapid On-Farm Testing of Resistance in Lolium rigidum to Key Pre- and Post-Emergence Herbicides” has just been published. We're going to find out more about it.Here's some more detail on the paperOverreliance on herbicides for weed control is conducive to the evolution of herbicide resistance.Lolium rigidum (annual ryegrass) is a species that is prone to evolve resistance to a wide range of herbicide modes of action. Rapid detection of herbicide-resistant weed populations in the field can aid farmers to optimize the use of effective herbicides for their control.The feasibility and utility of a rapid 7-d agar-based assay to reliably detect L. rigidum resistant to key pre- and post-emergence herbicides including clethodim, glyphosate, pyroxasulfone and trifluralin were investigated in three phases: correlation with traditional pot-based dose-response assays, effect of seed dormancy, and stability of herbicides in agar. Easy-to-interpret results were obtained using non-dormant seeds from susceptible and resistant populations, and resistance was detected similarly as pot-based assays. However, the test is not suitable for trifluralin because of instability in agar as measured over a 10-d period, as well as freshly-harvested seeds due to primary dormancy.This study demonstrates the utility of a portable and rapid assay that allows for on-farm testing of clethodim, glyphosate, and pyroxasulfone resistance in L. rigidum, thereby aiding the identification and implementation of effective herbicide control options.Read the paper here.  Find out more about the resistance testing service at UWA run by Dr Roberto Busi here. 

AHRI researcher, Dr Danica Goggin and others have recently discovered how ryegrass has evolved resistance to Sakura.  It's all about GSTs. Not the tax type, rather gluthione transferase (Danica explains in the podcast why the 'S' was dropped!). Wheat uses GSTs to detoxify and tolerate Sakura, and ryegrass has now evolved to do the same thing, although the ryegrass is not as tolerant as the wheat. The researchers found that it is up regulation of GSTs in the roots of the plant that causes the resistance.Dr Danica Goggin joins us on the podcast to explain these findings. You can read her paper in full here. 

In this episode we catch up with AHRI Director Hugh Beckie who recently presented at WeedSmart Week in Esperance. Hugh provides a snapshot into some of the practical research outcomes he was able to share with growers in Esperance in regards to recent results out of the AHRI agronomy team.We also hear from Hugh about how Roberto Busi's resistance testing is going, what is happening in the 2,4-D space with Dr Danica Goggin and how the molecular team, lead by Dr Qin Yu is going.We mentioned a few links in the podcast, including:AHRI insight on Roberto Busi's resistance workAHRI insight on Dr Qin Yu and Dr Heping Han's work on P450sMake sure you're following us on Twitter so you don't miss out on any AHRI news! 

Daniel Birch farms  at Catalina Farms near Marchagee in WA's wheatbelt. He recently got resistance testing done through Dr Roberto Busi's resistance testing program.Daniel also attended Roberto's last resistance workshop which took place last week in Dalwallinu.In this interview, Daniel explained how the results from his resistance testing has assisted in helping to make planning decisions. He also provides an overview of what the workshop was like and the key learnings out of it. You can read all about Roberto's resistance testing working in this AHRI insight. 

On today's AHRI Snapshots, we're catching up with our newest AHRI team member, Dr Candy Taylor!Candy has recently joined the team as a Research Associate. She's going to be looking at understanding auxinic herbicide resistance dynamics. This work is being supported by an ARC Linkage grant, with additional investment from Nufarm. This was successfully secured by AHRI's Dr Danica Goggin and former AHRI Director Professor Stephen Powles.So, for a little bit of background on Candy, she obtained her PhD in 2019 in the area of plant genetics and pre-breeding here at UWA and most recently worked as a UWA Graduate Research Assistant with Wallace Cowling and Janine Croser.We're excited to have her on the team! Take a listen to learn more. 

Today we're catching up with CSIRO Scientist, Dr Rick Llewellyn. Rick is the Group Leader for Integrated Agricultural Systems and is managing the Area Wide Management, or AWM, project. The project is about engaging local stakeholders in generating a better understanding of the weed issues in focus regions through identifying the spatial mobility of key weeds, their herbicide resistance status and how this might impact on local land uses.Reports and Fact sheetsThe responsibility and management of weeds along Australian roadsidesManaging hard-to-control weeds along Australian roadsides – Guidelines for ManagersSocial Attitudes to Area Wide Weed Management – Preliminary Report for Darling DownsSocial Attitudes to Area Wide Weed Management – Preliminary Report for RiverinaSocial Attitudes to Area Wide Weed Management – Preliminary Report for SunraysiaSocial Attitudes to Area Wide Weed Management – Preliminary Report for Other AreasThis project is supported through funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program and the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation.

Today on AHRI Snapshots, we're chatting with our new Communications Officer, Jessica Scholle. Jessica comes to us from Scitech, which is an Australian not-for-profit science centre based in Perth, WA. From traveling regionally to deliver face-to-face science presentations, to producing educational science material for online, Jess comes to us with a wealth of experience in science communications. LINKS In the podcast, Jessica talked to us about how she has been learning about agriculture and herbicide resistance through our Diversity Era courses. You can do these courses too (and it's free!): http://diversityera.com/ Follow Jessica on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/JessicaScholle1

In this episode of AHRI Snapshots, we're catching up with AHRI Agronomy Research Associate Dr Yaseen Khalil. Yaseen has been working on pasture rotations, with his project finishing up in December this year. Today, we're going to get an update on where the project is at so far and find out some of the key results. Yaseen's project is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, which invests $1.5 million in AHRI each year to ensure Australian grain growers have access to world class research in strategies to mitigate weeds and control herbicide resistance. Rotation explainer Activity 3: Short-term pasture rotational studies At the start of the trials, average ryegrass seed banks were 3773 seed/m2 at Bolgart and 9143 seed/m2 at North Brookton. • Rotation 1 (Wheat): Weed management options applied in this rotation, controlled 36 - 67% of the seedbank of the ryegrass at Bolgart and Brookton sites, respectively. • Rotation 2 (Fallow): Weed management options applied in this rotation, controlled 100% of the seedbank of the ryegrass at Bolgart and Brookton sites. • Rotation 3 (Lupin): Weed management options applied in this rotation, controlled 51 and 61% of the seedbank of the ryegrass at Bolgart and Brookton sites, respectively. • Rotation 4 (Serradella killed): Weed management options applied in this rotation, controlled 99.3 and 99.5% of the seedbank of the ryegrass at Bolgart and Brookton sites, respectively. • Rotation 5 (Serradella killed): Weed management options applied in this rotation, controlled 99 and 98.7% of the seedbank of the ryegrass at Bolgart and Brookton sites, respectively. • Rotation 6 (Serradella spray-topped): Weed management options applied in this rotation, controlled 85.6 and 92.2% of the seedbank of the ryegrass at Bolgart and Brookton sites, respectively. • Rotation 7 (Serradella spray-topped): Weed management options applied in this rotation, controlled 86.1 and 92.1% of the seedbank of the ryegrass at Bolgart and Brookton sites, respectively.

Dr Roberto Busi has been working hard on his GRDC invested project on testing resistant weeds. In this interview, he goes over some of the research updates and the workshops which are taking place this month in WA. Regional Workshops in WA dates Esperance (location to be advised), 2-5pm, Tuesday, June 22 – organised by the South East Premium Wheat Growers Association and coordinated by agronomists David Pfeiffer and Garren Knell Green Range Country Club, 40521 South Coast Highway-2-5pm, Wednesday, June 23 – organised by Stirlings to Coast Farmers and coordinated by agronomist Garren Knell Merredin Community Resource Centre, 110 Barrack Street, 2-5pm, Thursday, June 24 – organised by the Merredin and Districts Farm Improvement Group and coordinated by agronomist Geoff Fosbery Liebe Group Agricultural Research and Education Facility, Dalwallinu, 9am-12 noon, Thursday, August 5 – organised by the Liebe Group and coordinated by the Liebe Group. Perth Workshop June 11, Fri: UWA Campus at glasshouses (southern end of campus) at 7 am

This week on AHRI Snapshots, we caught up with AHRI Agronomy Lead, Dr Mike Ashworth. Mike has been leading projects on mitigating herbicide resistance, looking at serradella as a break phase crop and blue lupin control in narrow leaf lupins. While some of these projects are still in progress, Mike is able to share with us some preliminary results, including new information on time of sowing recommendations.

In this episode, we’re catching up with AHRI’s Dr Heping Han to talk about some recent research he published on 2,4-D syngergising metribuzin. Australian farmers and agronomists have previously observed synergy between phenoxy herbicides, such as 2,4-D and PSII herbicides, also known as Group C or Group 3 herbicides such, as metribuzin. Thanks to this new AHRI research, we now know why this is the case. Dr Heping Han joins us to explain this research and what it means for farming systems. The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) invests $1.5 million in AHRI each year to ensure Australian grain growers have access to world class research in strategies to mitigate weeds and control herbicide resistance.

On this episode of AHRI Snapshots, we’re catching up with AHRI PhD Candidate, Nooshin Shahbazi. In her latest paper, Nooshin has looked at the capability of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors to detect and locate weeds. The results showed the detectability of the target at different scanning distances from the LiDAR was directly influenced by the size of the target and its orientation toward the LiDAR. You can read her paper here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/assessing-the-capability-and-potential-of-lidar-for-weed-detection/ The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) invests $1.5 million in AHRI each year to ensure Australian grain growers have access to world class research in strategies to mitigate weeds and control herbicide resistance.

In this special edition of AHRI Snapshots, we’re talking about some ground-breaking research out of AHRI which has this week been published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA. So, what is the big news? AHRI researchers have identified a new glyphosate resistance mechanism which has similarities to cancer drug resistance in humans. AHRI researchers who worked on this paper include former AHRI PhD scholar Lang Pan (pictured) who is now a Professor at Hunan Agricultural University, China, AHRI Principal Research Fellow Qin Yu and former AHRI Director, Professor Stephen Powles. Former AHRI Director, Professor Stephen Powles joined us on the podcast to discuss this exciting research further. __________________________________________________________________ Paper: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/an-abcc-type-transporter-endowing-glyphosate-resistance-in-plants/ AHRI insight: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/a-new-glyphosate-resistance-mechanism-with-similarities-to-cancer-drug-resistance/ Media Enquiries Paper Author Emeritus Professor Stephen Powles is available for interviews for radio, print and television. Mobile: 0418 927 181 E-mail: stephen.powles@uwa.edu.au

On this episode of AHRI Snapshots, we caught up with AHRI Masters Graduate Ci Sun. She published her first paper as first author recently on the adaptive value of flowering timing in wild radish. The paper has some important key takeaway messages which we get into in this interview. You can read Ci's paper here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/the-adaptive-value-of-flowering-time-in-wild-radish-raphanus-raphanistrum/ We also mentioned the WeedSmart Big 6 to look at diverse tactics for weed control. You can check out the Big 6 here: https://www.weedsmart.org.au/big-6/ Presenter & producer: AHRI Communications Lead Jessica Strauss

We’re well into 2021 and the team at AHRI has been really busy with research and extension. AHRI Director Hugh Beckie joins us on the podcast to provide us with an update on research outcomes out of AHRI, as well as an overview of his new paper on an agricultural weed assessment calculator which can be used in Australia. NEW RESEARCH OUT OF AHRI World first: glyphosate resistant capeweed: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/world-first-glyphosate-resistant-capeweed/ Agricultural Weed Assessment Calculator: An Australian Evaluation: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/agricultural-weed-assessment-calculator-an-australian-evaluation/ Cytochrome P450 CYP81A10v7 in Lolium rigidum confers metabolic resistance to herbicides across at least five modes of action: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/cytochrome-p450-cyp81a10v7-in-lolium-rigidum-confers-metabolic-resistance-to-herbicides-across-at-least-five-modes-of-action/

In this edition of AHRI Snapshots, we’re chatting with AHRI Agronomy Team researcher, Dr Yaseen Khalil about his latest paper which identified the world’s first glyphosate resistant capeweed. You can read AHRI insight on this topic here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/world-first-glyphosate-resistant-capeweed/ And you can read the paper in full here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/identification-of-the-first-glyphosate-resistant-capeweed-arctotheca-calendula-population/

A group of researchers led by Heping Han from AHRI, including researchers from Bayer and Zhejiang University in China have identified the P450 gene responsible for cross resistance to herbicides of at least five modes of action. The gene is CYP81A10v7. Paper author, Prof Steve Powles joins us in this AHRI Snapshots to provide a history of this research and what the finding means in both a fundamental and practical sense. AHRI recently published a paper on this and last week Peter Newman wrote an AHRI insight on it. You can read the insight here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/weve-cracked-the-p450-code/ ________________________________________________________ Podcast Presenter & Producer: Jessica Strauss

This is our last AHRI Snapshots podcast for 2020! On our final episode, AHRI PhD Candidate Nooshin Shahbazi joins us to talk about her latest paper "Comparison of crop and weed height, for potential differentiation of weed patches at harvest". She has been looking at differentiating between weeds and the crop at harvest time based on the plants height differences, with the aim of identifying weed species that persist in the field until harvest and grow taller than the crop plants, so that these weed species could be mapped at the next stage of the project and treated. With the increasing challenges associated with herbicide-based weed control due to chemical residue and herbicide resistance, innovative approaches to weed control are becoming more sought after. If you'd like to check out Nooshin's paper, you can read it here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/comparison-of-crop-and-weed-height-for-potential-differentiation-of-weed-patches-at-harvest/ Producer and Presenter: Jessica Strauss

Today on AHRI Snapshots we catch up with AHRI’s Dr Roberto Busi. He recently published a paper alongside AHRI's Prof Hugh Beckie which entitled: Are herbicide mixtures unaffected by resistance? A case study with Lolium rigidum. He joins us to tell us what he found. Paper:https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/are-herbicide-mixtures-unaffected-by-resistance-a-case-study-with-lolium-rigidum/

In this edition of AHRI Snapshots, we catch up with Colorado State University weeds researcher, Associate Professor Todd Gaines. Todd has previously worked out of AHRI and we thought it would be good to catch up with him to see what he’s focusing on at the moment. Todd recently had a paper feature in the Special Edition of Herbicide Resistance in Plants, edited by AHRI's Prof Hugh Beckie, entitled “Omics Potential in Herbicide-Resistant Weed Management”. We find out about that and Todd also shares an exciting finding on 2,4-D resistance which will be published in an upcoming paper.

This year, AHRI is hosting the 2020 Crop Protection Forum on Tuesday December 8th. This event is a collaboration between AHRI, CCDM and cesar and is designed to deliver the latest research to agronomists and industry in a one-day event. This event was first held in Perth in 2015 when it was hosted by AHRI. The event has since been delivered in Wagga, Dalby, Adelaide, and Moama in Victoria and has proved to be a valuable forum for agronomists to engage with crop protection researchers and discuss the regional issues arising and how to tackle these problems. Today on AHRI Snapshots, WeedSmart Southern Extension Agronomist Greg Condon who presented at Moama's event gives an overview of what to expect, and one of last year's attendees, Birchip Cropping Group's Kelly Angel gives her perspective. To see the program for this event and purchase tickets, click here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/crop-protection-forum-2020/

In this week's podcast, we catch up with AHRI Research Officer, Roberto Lujan Rocha who gives an update on where the agronomy team is at with a range of their projects. We talk about how the team is looking at whether certain weeds like ryegrass and wild radish evolve to evade harvest weed seed control tactics and also cover work the team is doing in pre-emergent herbicides. In the podcast, Roberto mentions a range of resources that discuss the work of the agronomy team. ‘Intelligent’ weeds evolve to evade controls: https://grdc.com.au/news-and-media/news-and-media-releases/national/2020/may/intelligent-weeds-evolve-to-evade-controls Fighting weeds with plants in the west: https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/weeds-pests-diseases/weeds/plant-establishment-critical-to-out-compete-weeds The interaction between wheat (Triticum aestivum), time-of-seeding and choice of pre-emergent herbicide on annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) growth and competition: https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2020/02/the-interaction-between-wheat-triticum-aestivum,-time-of-seeding-and-choice-of-pre-emergent-herbicide-on-annual-ryegrass-lolium-rigidum-growth-and-competition. This research Roberto talks about in this podcast will be presented by AHRI Weed Agronomy Lead Mike Ashworth at the Crop Protection Forum in Perth in December (get your tickets here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/crop-protection-forum-2020/) and also at GRDC Updates in 2021.

In this episode of AHRI Snapshots, we catch up with Professor Martin Vila-Aiub to find out about his recent paper "Fitness of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds: Current Knowledge and Implications for Management" which was recently published in a special edition of Herbicide Resistance in Plants (you can read that here: https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/publications/herbicide-resistance-in-plants-2/). Martin also tells us about how he's been utilising his time in Argentina during the pandemic (he's been doing lots of writing!).

On this edition of AHRI Snapshots, we’re catching up with AHRI’s Dr Mechelle Owen about her latest paper “Lessons learnt: crop-seed cleaning reduces weed-seed contamination in Western Australian grain samples” and also find out what’s in the pipeline for her upcoming survey work in Western Australia. If you're a grower in WA and would be keen on being involved in Mechelle's survey work, send her an email: mechelle.owen@uwa.edu.au ________________________________________________________________ Podcast producer & host: Jessica Strauss