Waite Ag, Food & Wine Student Seminar - Zarka Ramiz

Zarka Ramiz

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

Abstract: Lolium rigidum and Bromus diandrus are two of the most problematic weeds of South Australian cropping systems. They are the major cause of yield decline in cereal crops. As these grasses occur in different regions of South Australia and behave differently under each area it is quite difficult to control them without having in-depth knowledge of germination patterns within different populations of these two grasses. Although there had been many studies done previously to understand the biology and ecology of these two weeds, but none of the previously undertaken studies involved analysing the different populations collected across the South Australian cropping regions. Therefore, our current research aims to investigate the germination behaviour of different populations of these two grass weeds under different a-biotic stresses, to identify early and late emerging populations, to assess their genes with the help of genetic markers, to design a cost effective weed management strategy.