Herbicide Resistance In Australia

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Introduction:
Herbicide resistance in Australia costs billions of dollars a year affecting natural systems but more particularly agricultural cropping systems. The Department of Agriculture wants herbicide resistance to be further investigated through this paper. In this briefing paper a range of areas will be covered including mechanisms of herbicide resistant weeds and the major instances. Rye grass or L. rigidum is an ever evolving weed and is the world’s leader in herbicide resistance which has a range of mechanisms which have led to its survival and resistance. But are herbicide resistant weeds like L. rigidum becoming more common if so what are the projections of further evolution to herbicides?

Major instances of herbicide resistance and their mechanisms:
Rye grass (common name) or L. rigidum (scientific name) is a monocotyledon grass weed found in the Australia grain belt, having high genetic diversity and being described as the world’s most dramatic example of resistance evolution (Powles and Preston 2006). L. rigidum has negatively …show more content…

Australia is the destination of the world’s most extreme examples of herbicide resistance through rye grass (L. rigidum), this weed along with others are negatively effecting crop yields. Many resistant weeds exhibit cross-resistance being very diverse and adaptable to a range of herbicides through mutations and selection which can be enhanced by poor farming techniques. The number of herbicide resistant species in Australia has been on the way up since 1982 and now in the 2010s more than ten species have become resistant compared to six in the 1980s. Understanding herbicide resistance through new technologies and new understandings will help to manage weeds better and limit their affect upon grain yields with the goal to reduce weed resistance in the

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