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Accepted manuscript

Are Our Weeds Changing? A Survey of Stakeholders from the Australian Grain Production Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2025

Ali Ahsan Bajwa*
Affiliation:
Senior Lecturer, La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF), Department of Ecological, Plant and Animal Sciences, AgriBio, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3086, Victoria, Australia
Aakansha Chadha
Affiliation:
Research Fellow, Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation, Federation University, Mount Helen, 3350, Victoria, Australia
Bill Grant
Affiliation:
Research Fellow, Future Regions Research Centre, Federation University, Mount Helen, 3350, Victoria, Australia.
*
Author for Correspondence: Dr. Ali Ahsan Bajwa, Senior lecturer, La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF), Department of Ecological, Plant and Animal Sciences, AgriBio, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3086, Victoria, Australia. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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The changing climate, land use, and agronomic practices are driving shifts in weed biology and management across Australia’s grain production systems. A stakeholder survey was conducted to identify key weed species, adaptations, and factors influencing future research priorities in three major cropping regions. The most problematic and adaptive species included rigid ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.), hairy fleabane (Erigeron bonariensis L.), Bromus spp. (includes both Bromus diandrus Roth and Bromus rigidus Roth), annual sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus L.), wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.), and feather fingergrass (Chloris virgata Sw.). These weeds also ranked high for future research focus. Observed adaptive traits included changes in dormancy, emergence patterns, shifts in phenology, and a shift towards year-round growth driven by warmer winters and increased summer rainfall. Regional responses varied slightly, with soil and crop management practices ranked as the primary driver of changing weed biology (88%), followed by climatic factors (56%), while soil factors (13%) were not considered as significant. Participants in the Northern region highlighted climate change (67%) as a major driver, while those in the Western region emphasized management practices (95%) and soil-related factors (32%). Sixty percent of participants noted that climatic changes were introducing new weeds, and 69% believed that changing weed biology was reducing control efficacy. National research priorities included understanding weed emergence dynamics (73%), effects of climate on herbicide efficacy (71%), and better understanding of weed ecology (68%). These findings highlight the trends and need for future research on changing weed biology and adaptive management strategies. Surveys of agronomists, farm advisors, researchers, and farmers provide a cost-effective method to monitor new weed adaptations. Refining survey methodologies and enhancing field data collection could improve the ability to track and manage weed adaptations to shifts in climate and management practices.

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America