Chaff lining has been increasing in popularity in the Harvest Weed Seed Control (HWSC) scene over the past two seasons. A survey of WeedSmart subscribers showed the percentage of growers using chaff lining increased from 6% in 2016 to 26% in 2017.Despite this rapid uptake of chaff lining, there really was no data available specific to its efficacy!However, there's now compelling research data coming through for chaff lining and it seems you get really good value for money and it does suppress weed emergence.In brief, this GRDC funded (US00084) research by members of the northern region weeds team, John Broster (Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga), Michael Walsh and Annie Rayner (University of Sydney, Narrabri) and Annie Ruttledge (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Toowoomba, Queensland) showed that:- As chaff levels increase, the emergence of weeds from under the chaff decreases;- Small-seeded broadleaf weeds (eg. sowthistle) are more easily suppressed than annual ryegrass; and- Chaff type can influence weed emergence, depending on the chaff proportion of the crop.You can read the AHRI insight in full on this research here (https://ahri.uwa.edu.au/chaff-liningtoo-good-to-be-true/), but first, take a listen to the podcast!
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