Pest, disease and weed management
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://elibrary2.sugarresearch.com.au/handle/11079/13843
Research outcomes: A comprehensive RD&E program that addresses existing and emerging pests, diseases and weeds, allowing sugarcane growers to manage their crops efficiently with minimal environmental impacts. An enhanced industry capacity to deal with incursions of exotic pests, diseases and weeds.
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Item Impact of application depth and slot closure on runoff losses of imidacloprid(ASSCT, 2020) Fillols, E; Davis, AMImidacloprid represents the Australian sugar industry’s best canegrub-management tool, but it has been detected in many water bodies, including groundwater, creeks, rivers and marine environments, posing a potential risk to the health of the Great Barrier Reef. In ratoon cane, it is commonly applied in liquid form with coulters within the cane row. Imidacloprid product labels state that, when applied in ratoons, the product must be placed at 100–125 mm depth and the slot must be covered; however, it is not uncommon to observe application equipment that does not maintain the desired depth or fails to close the slot appropriately. To investigate the best application methods to reduce imidacloprid runoff, two rainfall-simulation trials were established in the Burdekin and in the Wet Tropics to assess the impact of depth and slot coverage on imidacloprid runoff when the liquid formulation is applied with a stool-splitter tine implement. An additional runoff trial under overhead irrigation was set up in the Wet Tropics to test the efficacy of the StoolZippa™ to close the slot and reduce imidacloprid runoff losses when the product is applied at the correct depth of 100 mm. Results from the rainfall-simulation trials showed higher imidacloprid concentration in runoff from a shallow application at 50 mm compared to the recommended minimum 100 mm application depth. A press wheel reduced the imidacloprid concentration to nil when the product was applied at the correct depth of 100 mm; however, it slightly increased the concentration in the case of the shallow application. In the overhead-irrigation trial, the StoolZippa™ increased the imidacloprid concentrations in runoff versus the slot left open, but these concentrations were still extremely low and not of environmental concern. These trials indicate that ensuring the product is consistently applied at 100 mm depth is the best way to reduce imidacloprid loss via runoff when the product is applied with a stool-splitter tine implement. As trials were only conducted in loam soils at two locations, further trials are recommended over a range of soil types and geographic locations.Item Optimising spot spraying for controlling Guinea Grass : ASSCT peer-reviewed paper(ASSCT, 2019) Staier, TN; Fillols, EEstablished Guinea grass stools are commonly found in our sugarcane-farming system. No registered herbicides that are both effective on perennial Guinea grass stools and selective to sugarcane are available. Directed-spray strategies using registered herbicides and current spray configurations are not effective in controlling Guinea grass stools, so growers with Guinea grass escapes rely on spot spraying. To optimise spot spraying, the mixture applied needs to be effective in a single application with minimal impact on the adjacent sugarcane stools. Two pot trials screened herbicides registered in sugarcane for their efficacy to control established Guinea grass stools. The first pot trial showed that good spray coverage was crucial for successful control of Guinea grass spot sprayed with 1.35 L per 100 L of Weedmaster® Argo® (glyphosate 540 g/L) + 0.3 L of LI700* per 100 L. The second pot trial showed that isoxaflutole (75 g/ha) + MSMA (2.16 kg/ha) was the most effective herbicide combination and the application rate could potentially be reduced. Bobcat® i-MAXX (imazapic 25 g/L + hexazinone 125 g/L) was also effective when used at 2 L per 100 L, but Barrage® (diuron 468 g/kg + hexazinone 132 g/kg) was only effective when used at twice the recommended rate (2 L per 100 L) and only when the entire foliage was soaked to the point of runoff. The most effective spot-spraying options for Guinea grass control with the lowest impact on adjacent sugarcane were: isoxaflutole + MSMA, but this mixture is not registered for spot spraying application; and Bobcat® i-MAXX. Bobcat® i-MAXX SG (granular formulation), registered since 2018, includes a spot-spraying rate at 350 g per 100 L that is equivalent to the effective rate tested in the second pot trial.Item Combining weed efficacy, economics and environmental considerations for improved herbicide management in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area(Science of the Total Environment, 2020) Fillols, E; Davis, AM; Lewis, SE; Ward, AThe current Australian sugarcane industry transition toward adoption of an ‘alternative’ herbicide strategy as part of improved environmental stewardship is increasingly complicated by recent farming system, regulatory and herbicidal product changes. This study quantified and compared the efficacy, economic costs and environmental risk profiles of a range of established, emerging, and recently registered pre-emergent herbicides across field trials in the Wet Tropics region of North Queensland. Several herbicides were effective on certain weed species, but lacked broad spectrum control. Better efficacy results from products with multiple active ingredients (i.e., imazapichexazinone) demonstrated the benefits of using mixtures of active ingredients to widen the spectrum of weed control efficacy. All tested pre-emergent herbicides behaved quite similarly in terms of their propensity for off-site movement in water (surface runoff losses generally N10% of active applied), with their losses largely driven by their application rate. Herbicides with lower application rates consistently contributed less to the total herbicide loads measured in surface runoff. Results demonstrated alternative choices from the more environmentally problematic herbicides (such as diuron) are available with effective alternative formulations providing between 4 and 29 times less risk than the traditional diuron-hexazinone ‘full rate’. However, considerable challenges still face canegrowers in making cost-effective decisions on sustainable herbicide selection. Additional research and effective grower extension are required to address information gaps in issues such as specific weed control efficacy of alternative herbicides and potential blending of some herbicides for more effective broad spectrum weed control, while also minimising environmental risks.Item Factors affecting the distribution of the vine species in sugarcane: results of GIS surveys in Central Queensland(ASSCT, 2015) Fillols, E; Areif, V; Staier, TExtracted from the Proceedings of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technology, Volume 37, 2015.Item Efficacy and environmental runoff impact of alternative pre-emergent herbicides to diuron applied on trash blanketed ratoons(ASSCT, 2018) Fillols, E; Davis, AM; Lewis, SThe efficacy of alternative pre-emergent herbicides to diuron applied just after harvest on green trash blanketed ratoons was investigated in three field trials in the wet tropics, Far North Queensland. The study also compared the losses of the tested pre-emergent herbicides in runoff using rainfall simulations. The commercially available pre-emergent herbicide Bobcat®i-MAXX (imazapic + hexazinone), was as efficient as Barrage (diuron + hexazinone), while other tested active ingredients like imazapic, isoxaflutole and amicarbazone were effective only on some weed species. All tested herbicides were found in runoff water at levels aligned with their application rate. Herbicides applied at lower application rates such as imazapic and isoxaflutole had minimal environmental runoff footprints when compared with diuron. All tested alternatives were proven more environmentally friendly than diuron.Item Can directed-spray strategies control Guinea Grass stools? : ASSCT peer-reviewed paper(ASSCT, 2019) Fillols, E; Staier, TNGuinea grass is a troublesome perennial grass in our sugarcane farming system. Despite a range of effective pre-emergent and early post-emergent herbicides, optimum spray windows are often missed and established Guinea grass stools are commonly found. To control established Guinea grass stools, growers often rely on spot spraying, which is time consuming and often requires multiple passes. Four replicated field trials were established to assess if directed-spray strategies could replace spot-spraying strategies. Field trials showed that a late application of isoxaflutole (75 g/ha) + MSMA (2.16 kg/ha) applied at the base of the row generated the strongest phytotoxicity symptoms on Guinea grass stools and reduced by up to 67% the number of Guinea grass stools in the following ratoon. However, this herbicide mixture also reduced sugarcane yield by 34-41% depending on the application technique. The safest treatment for sugarcane was an early banded spray with asulam (3.4 kg/ha), followed by a late interrow application of glyphosate (2.7 kg/ha) using a shielded sprayer, but the reduction in the number of Guinea grass in the following year was highly variable from trial to trial (0-67% reduction). No directed-spray strategies were identified to control established Guinea grass in sugarcane rows without a significant sugarcane-yield penalty.Item Herbicides and the water quality conundrum(ASSCT, 2017) Ross, P; Fillols, E; Billing, B; Davis, AHerbicidal impact on the health of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon came to the forefront in 2009 with the Queensland Government’s Great Barrier Reef Protection Amendment Act 2009 and the concurrent review of diuron by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). Subsequently, Federal and Queensland government programs have maintained the spotlight on both freshwater and marine water quality. Ambitious pesticide load reduction targets have been set by the Reef 2050 Plan, as one of the means to improve water quality and the resilience of the GBR ecosystem. Photosystem II (PSII) herbicides in particular are targeted under the plan. Gaining sustained industry practice change is paramount to achieving these targets. Progress is being made, although the challenges remain, both on the practice change level and on the technical knowledge level. Weed management practices with demonstrated environmental benefits include timing spray applications to avoid run-off within the 20–25 days following spraying, incorporation of residual herbicides by non-run-off inducing irrigation or rainfall, switching to strategic and/or banded application of residual herbicides, and avoiding the use of residual herbicides on ratoons where trash blanketing provides sufficient weed suppression. Other farming system improvements such as controlled traffic may reduce the amount of run-off, contributing to reductions in overall herbicide losses. Growers are switching to alternative residual herbicides in response to tighter controls on the PS II herbicides diuron, atrazine, ametryn and hexazinone. Relative risk rankings being developed indicate that alternative herbicides can offer reduced environmental risk.Item Developing an alternative herbicide management strategy to replace PSII herbicides in the Wet Tropics area : final report 2014/050(Sugar Research Australia Limited, 2018) Fillols, E; Lewis, S; Davis, AItem Efficacy of alternative pre-emergent herbicides applied in trash-blanketed ratoons in the Wet Tropics(ASSCT, 2016) Fillols, E; Staier, TNAs a result of continued exceedances in permissible pesticide levels in watercourses, the Australian sugar industry is under considerable environmental scrutiny, which has resulted in the restriction of use of products such as diuron.Item Impact of nutgrass on sugarcane yield(BSES, 2011) Fillols, EResearch carried out in Mackay over 2009-2010 in plant cane confirmed the impact of nutgrass competition on sugarcane yield and profitability. Trials were conducted on both dryland and irrigated sites, with similar yield losses where nutgrass was not controlled. The trials looked at cane yield and sugar losses when nutgrass control was delayed for various time periods. This work supported earlier trial work conducted by Aitken, Munro and McGuire in NSW from 2007 to 2010.