Review of the value of programs of the CRC for Australian Weed Management
Stage 1 and 2 assessments: Education & Communication programs & programs impacting on threats to the environment

This independent report by ACIL Tasman concluded that the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management (Weeds CRC) produced significant weed prevention and control benefits that would not have been generated, to the same extent and in the same time scales, in the absence of the Weeds CRC's activities on education, communication and environmental weeds.

The analysis delivered a reasonably robust assessment that activities within these areas have been critical in supporting reasonably tangible benefits of some tens of millions of dollars. These benefits have been enabled by expenditures of the order of $47m (cash and in kind contributions), while drawing on capability from many sources.

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Market Attitude Research Services conducted an investigation into community awareness and attitudes about weeds as a significant problem in Australia for the Weeds CRC in 2003 and again in 2008, including focus group discussions and national telephone surveys of metropolitan and regional cities. Their findings are presented here

An economic decision tool for responding to new weed incursion risks in the Australian grains industry (Technical Series #14)
By Rohan T. Jayasuriya, Randall E. Jones and Remy van de Ven

When a weed invasion is discovered a decision has to be made as to whether to attempt to eradicate it, contain it or do nothing. These decisions should be based on economic considerations that account for long-term benefits and costs. Accordingly, the development of a decision support system that can assist decision makers to identify appropriate weed management strategies for dealing with new incursions as they occur is highly desirable. This report presents a bio-economic modelling framework that determines optimal government policy response in terms of the search and control effort of a new weed incursion. The framework takes explicit account of the biological processes involved in weed spread and combines this into an economic decision model.

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Managing wild radish and other brassicaceous weeds in Australian cropping systems
This publication brings together the latest research information on brassicaceous weeds, some of Australia's worst broadleaf crop weeds. Closely related to a wide range of cultivated vegetables (eg cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli), major brassicaceous weeds include wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), charlock (Sinapis arvensis) and turnip weed (Rapistrum rugosum). Prompted by mounting cases of herbicide resistance in brassicaceous weeds, the book reveals that preventing seed-set of surviving weeds is critical to avoid replenishment of the weed seedbank and to prevent the spread of resistance.Management tactics are presented within an integrated weed management framework that focuses on the various parts of the weed lifecycle and keeps the pressure on the weed seedbank.

The book will be useful for agronomists, growers, researchers, land managers and their advisors.

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The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status
Rod Randall’s The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status is an invaluable resource to everyone who cares about the Australian environment and wishes to ensure that the plants chosen for revegetation projects, landscaping and gardens are not likely to become weedy and a threat to our bushland. Every introduced plant species, past and present, in Australia is listed in this publication, with information on its weedy status here and worldwide. Hardcopies currently not available.

| How to use this book (243KB) | The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status (3258KB)| Searchable database |

Misbehaving Plants
Misbehaving plants is a big book with an introduction to weeds, a narrative story, a cartoon strip and factual information describing weeds.

This resource was developed in consultation with experienced lower primary / infants teachers. While the book was developed for early stage teachers, the content and lesson activities suit a range of abilities, making this book appropriate for all primary classrooms.

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