What weeds most affect cotton production in Australia?

Question

What weeds are the most destructive to growing cotton in Australia? Also, in particular the Darling Downs QLD, but that's not too necessary. If any one knows of a site then that would be great, I've tried searching for ages and I can't find anything useful.

Answer 1

Links below to the CSIRO. They seem to be big there.

CSIRO publishing has a number of reports available. Go to the second link below and type into search "cotton weed control" and you will get a list from the Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture. The third link has some downloads of info on cotton management. The fourth link talks about herbicide resistance and mentioned at least one weed problem that I picked out scanning quickly, that of Lolium (rye grass) species. The last link is weed generalized information to your country and seems to be a great link, really well designed.

The best way to get the info that you want is to get to the nearest university that has an agriculture department. If you have to, or want to, plan a whole day trip and spend it in the research library. It won't take long to get the info you need and photo copy it. If you are not familiar with research material, find a student that you know and take them with you. It might cost lunch but it will be fun. You might check the local library first, especially if you live in an agricultural community.

Feel free to call people in the local agricultural department in your state to ask for information. That's what they are there for. They will send you a lot of information packets printed up by the government, your tax money. They will happily send them off.

The question I think is not what weeds so much as the impact of them in production, the use of herbicide resistant strains, and the problems with herbicide resistance in the weeds from overuse. Weeds compete with plants for moisture and harbor insects that are problems. So look at management information especially organic info, when available. Non-organic management seems to be falling down.

Answer 2

About helicoverpa

Helicoverpa (often called heliothis) is a serious pest of southern Queensland crops, particularly grain legumes, summer grains and cotton. Understanding the lifecycle and behaviour of helicoverpa improves our chances of managing this pest sustainably.

There are two pest species of helicoverpa in Australia that this publication refers to as ‘helicoverpa’: the native budworm, Helicoverpa punctigera; and the cotton bollworm or corn earworm, H. armigera . Because H. armigera has developed resistance to a wide range of insecticides, it is more difficult to control.