The Harrington Seed Destructor: Its role and value in farming systems facing the challenge of herbicide-resistant weeds

Abstract

Herbicide-resistant weeds are an increasing global problem in crop production systems. To lessen the incidence of herbicide resistance and to prevent the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds many farmers in Australia have adopted weed seed control measures at grain harvest. One new option is known as the Harrington Seed Destructor (HSD). It is a machine that intercepts crop residue from the harvester and then mechanically destroys embedded weed seeds. In this study, the RIM (Ryegrass Integrated Management) model was used to investigate the economic worth of the HSD within integrated weed management strategies applicable to different weed environments, rotations, sizes of cropping programmes and crop yields. Use of the HSD generated increased returns compared to many other weed management strategies in several scenarios, but especially when non-selective herbicide resistance occurred and large areas of high-yielding crops were grown. Emerging trends in grain farming that include larger areas sown to crops, a greater incidence of herbicide-resistant weeds and higher crop yields, when combined with further manufacturing improvement of the HSD, will only further favour the use of the HSD as a key component of integrated weed management.