Herbicide resistance in Australian cotton farming systems - a journey through time

摘要

TRADITIONAL agriculture relied heavily on horsepower and steel during the 1950s-1980s. The minimum till and no till revolution that has followed has allowed growers to grow more with less by maintaining ground cover and capturing more water allowing crops to be grown even in low rainfall years. How has this change manifested itself in the Australian cotton industry? The move away from cultivation was a slow process until the adoption of Roundup Ready cotton in the early 2000s.In the 1990s, Australian cotton farmers relied on a range of chemical and mechanical tools to control weeds in their fields. Weed control relied on large inputs of herbicide followed by the inevitable hand chipping to control escapes or survivors.