description
- The cost of weeds to Australian agriculture is enormous and continuing to rise with increasing crop value, and as herbicide resistance becomes increasingly widespread. Herbicides remain among the most cost-effective weed management options but herbicide resistance and the threat of few new herbicide chemistries places increasing reliance on the deployment of more weed-competitive crop varieties. A previous GRDC project demonstrated the potential for development of weed-competitive wheat genotypes; building on that work the aims of this project are: (i) to develop a robust and repeatable screening methodology for improved weed competitiveness for use in commercial breeding programs; (ii) to understanding of those morphological/physiological factors contributing to improved competitiveness; and (iii) development and release of elite spring wheat germplasm containing traits with improved competitiveness for use as parents in breeding of new weed-competitive varieties.