US Weed Scientists Visit CEI:AgER

December 2023 saw some fresh faces and accents around the Centre, with two PhD Candidates, Eli Russell and Sarah Chu, joining us from the USA. Eli (Virginia Tech) and Sarah (Texas A&M) crossed the globe to experience Australian cropping and harvest weed seed control (HWSC) systems firsthand, under the mentorship of Associate Professor Michael Walsh who met them during his Fulbright activities in 2023.

Sarah and Eli with the CEI:AgER team

Both Eli and Sarah are investigating the use of harvest weed seed control approaches in US crop production systems - Sarah in cotton, wheat and rice and Eli in wheat, corn and soybeans. A/Professor Walsh, an expert in HWSC systems, has visited the USA multiple times to share knowledge and expertise on the subject. With the benefit of furthering research, strengthening relationships, and improving cross-country relations, A/Professor Walsh invited these two promising PhD students to experience HWSC in action during a West Australian wheat harvest.

Being their first foray to the Land Down Under, Eli was (pleasantly) surprised by a standoff with an emu. “Birds should not be that big,” he was heard to exclaim.

Aside from their winged encounter, the rest of their visits to farms near Corrigin and Wickepin went smoothly, where Eli, Sarah and Michael investigated the potential of harvester stripper fronts to collect ryegrass weed seed. HWSC requires the effective collection of weed seeds during harvest to destroy or remove the seeds from the paddock. Whether stripper fronts can successfully collect weed seeds, as compared to the more commonly used draper fronts, is unknown and a current topic of interest. Sarah and Eli had the opportunity to witness an “Australian style” grain harvest operation, talk to the farmers about their production system, and, of course, take lots of pictures in wheat fields.

Michael, Eli and Sarah in various photo-op combinations

Whilst based at CEI:AgER facilities in Shenton Park (Perth), Sarah and Eli helped to test a different type of weed control, a directed energy system by Global Neighbours, Inc. The system uses a combination of blue light and mid-range infra-red heating to target weed seeds in the chaff fraction.

However, it wasn’t all weeds and no play, as they also got to experience the very best of a Perth summer with trips to Kings Park, Cottesloe, Fremantle, and Rottnest. Eli was pleased to learn that instead of emus, Rottnest is inhabited by much smaller wildlife (with no beaks).

Sarah and Eli at Rottnest Island