AHRI's Ken Flower ready for herbicide challenges

From a strong background in weed research and no-till cropping systems research, he is ready to tackle the new role with one of the world's leading herbicide resistance research groups.

AHRI is a national initiative based at The University of Western Australia, with major investment from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), and its solution-based research addresses herbicide resistance for the broadacre cropping industry.

Weeds cost Australian grain growers an estimated $3.3 billion per year or $146/hectare, so a continued focus on solutions is needed to minimise these costs which effect grower profitability.

Professor Flower said broadacre cropping in Australia was tied to a system which was "heavily dependent on herbicides", resulting in weeds developing resistance to certain chemicals or modes of action.

"Herbicides are still part of the solution, but we're heavily reliant on them - it's becoming an arms race against weeds, which develop resistance to herbicides, especially when used regularly," he said.

His aim is to develop a broader whole-of-system approach for battling weeds, which includes the use of new technology to map weeds and then apply multiple control measures over time, be they chemical or non-chemical, in a targeted or site-specific manner.

"If any single weed control technique is over-used, weeds develop ways to overcome or evade that measure, so diverse measures are required," professor Flower said.

"For example, harvest weed seed control (HWSC) is a very successful, relatively new, non-chemical weed control measure, where weed seeds are taken into the harvester, along with the grain, and then separated and killed (crushed) or removed.

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"However, overuse can select for weeds that shed their seeds before harvest, thereby evading HWSC.

Professor Flower believed the paradigm in agriculture was changing with rapid advances in technology and data science, yet the application of new technology has been focussed on single solutions, rather than delivering long-term benefits.

"I believe AHRI can play a leading role by considering the whole cropping system and the biology and ecology of the weeds when integrating some of the new technology solutions, thereby ensuring the solutions are pragmatic, diverse and based on their long-term weed control impact," Mr Flower said.

It is key to develop systems that are less reliant on herbicides, so if key herbicides are banned in the future - as is occurring in some countries - growers aren't greatly affected.

From an economics perspective, a reduction in herbicide reliance will also reduce the crop input costs, as herbicides are one of the main costs, second to fertiliser, although, some of these savings will be taken up by the costs of the new technology.

Professor Flower hopes that in five to 10 years, growers will be less reliant on herbicides.

"It's not going to happen in the next year or two, certainly," he said.

"But if you think about how rapidly technology is developing, we should, as an industry, have developed systems that depend less on herbicides in the next decade."

GRDC managing director Nigel Hart is excited about the appointment.

"GRDC invests about $1.5 million each year in AHRI on behalf of Australian graingrowers, because the organisation delivers critical research and knowledge that is helping growers manage current and emerging weed threats," Mr Hart said.

"Growers are constantly battling to effectively and efficiently manage weeds, so professor Flower's whole-of-farm focus will be increasing critical for the sustainability and profitability of Australian grains businesses."