Aquatic Herbicide
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Academic
Possible Weapon in the Fight Against Multi-herbicide-resistant Annual Ryegrass (Lolium rigidum), One of the Most Costly and Persistent Weeds in the Wheatbelt
Researchers from the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) at The University of Western Australia say a proof-of-conceptstudyhas shown fluridone's ability to simultaneously stimulate soil-based weed germination and act as a herbicide.
This is due to fluridone curtailing the production of carotenoids, organic pigments that protect plant chlorophyll from sun.
Without this protection, plants get burnt or bleached, leading to death.
At the same time, carotenoid production creates abscisic acid (ABA), the plant hormone responsible for seed dormancy.
So without ABA, plants can't maintain dormancy and begin germination.
Dr Danica Goggin says testing has shown positive results.
"Spraying mature weed seeds with fluridone on the soil surface stimulated germination, and the resulting seedlings were bleached and most were unable to survive," Dr Goggin says.
River sand and loam responded well to spraying
"This was particularly true in soils with low organic matter, including river sand and sandy loam taken for testing from farmland near York, WA, reaching almost 100 per cent effectiveness at 84 days post-spraying.
"Treatment during seed development had only limited effects, suggesting that fluridone needs to be applied to mature, shed seeds rather than to flowering plants."
Fluridone also showed more limited success in potting mix, which has 7.6 per cent organic carbon, as the herbicide binds to organic matter, reducing its efficiency.
Considering the majority of Australian cropping soils have low organic matter, this may not be a significant drawback.
However, some crops responded better than others after a fluridone treatment.
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