South Australian company de Bruin Engineering is helping to arm farmers in the war against weeds with the manufacture and commercialisation of in-header technology that can destroy weed seeds during the harvesting process.
The integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD) is the culmination of 20 years of development and research starting with an idea conceived by Western Australian farmer Ray Harrington.
At the BCG Main Field Day on September 14, de Bruin engineer Jud Wheatley will explain the concept and provide details about how the iHSD works and how effective it is in preventing and managing herbicide resistant weeds.
The iHSD is the latest evolution of weed seed destructor technology which was initially developed as a unit which farmers towed behind their headers to capture and pulverise weed seeds.
The first tow-behind units, which were also developed commercially by de Bruin Engineering, were deemed highly effective (>90%) in destroying annual ryegrass, wild radish, brome grass and wild oat seed during harvest.
However, despite winning a prestigious Edison Award for Smart Agriculture, the tow-behind unit was quickly overshadowed by the promise of HSD integrated right into the harvester.
“Finally, after years of research and development by UniSA funded by GRDC, through many trials by and tribulations, HSD technology has entered its ultimate phase as the Integrated Harrington Seed Destructor,” Mr Wheatley said.
Mr Wheatley is just one of 20 grains industry professionals who will address farmers at BCG’s Main Field Day.
Other keynote presentations will be delivered by seasonal climate agronomist Dale Grey (Agriculture Victoria), plant vector borne diseases researcher Piotr Trebicki (Agriculture Victoria), research agronomist Rohan Brill (NSW DPI) and crop nutrition specialist Sean Mason (University of Adelaide).
The day will also feature field trial tours with timely and relevant discussions about integrated pest management, grain and hay marketing, crop disease management, fertiliser and gypsum use, crop recovery after grazing, gibberellic acid use, volunteer cereal control, harvest efficiency and more.
The 2016 BCG Main Field Day is at Warmur (18kms south west of Birchip on the Warracknabeal-Birchip road), from 9am to 5pm on September 14.
Entry is free for BCG members and $50 for non-members, with breakfast (from 8.15am) and lunch available for purchase on site (proceeds towards the Birchip P-12 School Cambodia project). For details contact BCG on 5492 2787 or log on at www.bcg.org.au/events.
