Herbicide resistance in imported lines of ryegrass & seed biosecurity

Background

• 200-400 tonnes of ryegrass imported per year
• $80+ million NZD ryegrass multiplication industry
• Resistant ryegrass common in arable sector
• Farmers suspected resistant plants may come from imported seed for sowing

Goals

• Determine if imported lines of ryegrass have herbicide resistant phenotypes at rates higher than expected.
• Develop genetic sequencing methods for detecting multiple resistance alleles in seed lots. (- not completed -).
• Determine if some weed contaminants in imported seed lines are herbicide resistant