The Western Australia Department of Agriculture recently ran a workshop with farmers at Konnongorring sponsored by local Landcare group Gabby Quoi Quoi, Elders and Wesfarmers.

Key Speaker and Department research officer Abul Hashem told the group that managers of farm businesses need to gain a whip hand with ryegrass.

"Integrated weed management is the key. Farmers can diversify their use of herbicides via rotation choice. For example, by growing wheat followed by lupins or canola (either TT or IT) herbicides with different modes of action can be used between years," Dr Hashem said.

"Spray mixtures that combine herbicides from different herbicide groups to target individual weed species can be used and unless there are known synergies, full rates should be used. "

Dr Hashem said as there was no known resistance in Western Australia to herbicides from the groups D (eg trifluralin), K (eg metolachlor) or L (eg Spray.Seed®), and thus herbicides from these groups should be used opportunistically.

He also recommended using a double- knockdown, i.e. a glyphosate application followed by a full rate of Spray.Seed®, prior to establishing crops as this would help prevent the development of glyphosate resistance.