Chris Buddenhagen is a weed ecologist at AgResearch and is currently overseeing the Herbicide Resistance survey with support from the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR). His background in conservation biology and invasive species management has given him a broad understanding of the issues that herbicide resistance present.
The herbicide resistance survey has covered 20% of arable land in the Canterbury region. FAR’s field staff collected weeds seeds from wheat and barley paddocks on farms between the Rakaia and Waimakiriri rivers over two seasons (2018/19 and 2019/20). The collected weed seeds were then grown and sprayed at AgResearch to determine the number of resistant individuals. The survey found herbicide resistant weeds on 20 – 50% of farms.
Chris also worked on a study to classify the risk of selecting for herbicide resistance cases, based on how frequently different herbicides and modes of action are applied, and which weeds already have a number of resistance cases worldwide.
Contact Chris if you suspect you have a resistant weed: chris.buddenhagen@agresearch.co.nz
Risk Assessment Study:
Ngow, Z., Chynoweth, R. J., Gunnarsson, M., Rolston, P., Buddenhagen, C. E. (2020). A herbicide resistance risk assessment for weeds in wheat and barley crops in New Zealand. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234771
More info can be found on FAR’s website and in their recent “From the Ground Up” publication (see An Arable AgChem Stocktake)