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.  You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website 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. 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'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. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

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!You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

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. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.

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. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website 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. You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.