Resistant brome grass in South Australian Mallee
A study has revealed populations of herbicide resistant brome grass in the South Australian Mallee.
The study was part of a wider project looking at brome grass populations in Mallee no-till farming systems.
Brome grass is a persistent and highly competitive weed in the southern cropping regions of Australia.
Researcher Tanja Morgan says the resistant weeds were evident in the 40 samples she took from the region.
"We are starting to see some resistance to group B herbicides, in particular Intervix, which is a real concern, because it's one of the herbicides that worked best for brome control in crop, and if we lose that as a herbicide we're sort of limited with options in the longer term."
Group B herbicides work by preventing plants from making key proteins essential for their functioning.
Over exposure to any type of herbicide can speed up the development of resistance, and once resistant populations establish themselves, they can be difficult and expensive to control, and reduce the yields of crops.