Wheatbelt

The Focus Paddocks project assisted growers to make sound decisions to obtain a better return on their investment for break crops in their rotation.

Preventing weed seed set provides an opportunity to control weed seed set in the pasture, late fallow, late stubble and in-crop phases.

This management strategy provides an opportunity to control weed seed set in the pasture and during harvest. It physically removes viable seed from the paddock by collecting weed seed and grazing crop residues.

‘Risk-aware’ growers can implement strategies to reduce and avoid unnecessary introduction and spread of weeds. These strategies will reduce not only the likelihood of introducing new weed species but also the risk of importing herbicide resistant weeds.

Windmill grass (Chloris truncata) is a native species and is the tenth most common summer weed species in the Western Australian wheatbelt. As a summer weed it hosts pests and diseases and utilises stored soil moisture that would otherwise be available to the following crop.

Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) is highly competitive in crops and can cause a yield loss of 10-90%.

Annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) is one of the most serious and costly weeds of annual winter cropping systems in southern Australia. Annual ryegrass is highly competitive and can compete with a crop as early as the two-leaf crop stage.

Permanent raised beds are a practical and economic means of managing some waterlogged sites in wetter areas of the Western Australian grainbelt. Raised beds allow excess water to drain out of the beds (horizontal drainage) into open collector drains, which then discharge off the paddock.

Permanent raised beds are a practical and economic means of managing some waterlogged sites in wetter areas of the Western Australian grainbelt. Raised beds allow excess water to drain out of the beds (horizontal drainage) into open collector drains which then discharge off the paddock.