Smooth barley has emerged as a problematic weed in cereal crops of South Australia. After the recent reports of herbicide resistance and increase in seed dormancy in smooth barley, it was considered important to determine the herbicide resistance status and seedbank behavior of field populations of this weed species. A field survey was undertaken in the Upper North and Eyre Peninsula regions of South Australia in October 2012. Of the 90 smooth barley populations screened for resistance to quizalofop, 15% exhibited some level of resistance and 85% were susceptible. Resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides was low, with only 3 and 12% of populations classified as developing resistance to imazamox + imazapyr and sulfosulfuron, respectively. No multiple resistance patterns were observed; however, two ALS-inhibiting herbicide-resistant populations had sulfonylurea-to-imidazolinone cross-resistance. At the start of the growing season, the majority of smooth barley populations emerged rapidly (median 50% time to emergence [T50] = 8 d). In contrast, some populations of smooth barley displayed an extremely slow emergence pattern, with T50 of > 20 d. No direct linkage between seed dormancy and herbicide resistance was observed. However, two acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase-inhibiting herbicide-resistant populations were highly dormant and exhibited delayed emergence. The majority of smooth barley populations showed low-level or no seedbank persistence, but a few populations persisted for 1 yr. However, some weed populations had up to 20% seedbank persistence from 1 yr to the next. Overall there was a strong negative relationship between smooth barley seedling emergence and the level of seed persistence (R2 = 0.84, P < 0.05). This association indicated that greater seed dormancy could be responsible for extended persistence of the seedbank of this weed species. The study provides valuable insights into the general pattern of herbicide resistance and the behavior of the seedbank of smooth barley populations on South Australian farms.
