Australian oat growers can be reassured of continued access to a popular pre-emergent herbicide this season thanks to a cross-industry investment resulting in the national registration of Nufarm TriflurX®.

The trifluralin herbicide, previously available under a minor use permit, was last month granted national registration for use on oat (grain) and oaten hay crops by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA).

The registration follows significant collaborative work by GRDC, AgriFutures Australia and Nufarm, who co-invested to collate the required data for the product to be registered for use, which is a longer term and better solution than a minor use permit.

Highbury-based oat grower Ashley Wiese, who is also Chair of the Grain Industry of Western Australia (GIWA) Oat Council, says that one of the major challenges for oat growers was the lack of available herbicides registered for use in oat crops.

“The oat industry prides itself on being very clean and green. So far, the industry has done a good job of managing the weed burden in our crops,” Mr Wiese says.

“This is especially challenging with oats, and growers generally use a range of different weed control mechanisms because they have limited chemical weed control options.

“Trifluralin is another tool in the tool bag that helps keep our industry sustainable. It’s great to see the registration achieved and really good to see the industry and Nufarm stepping up to support it.”

The registration follows three years of field trials involving both crop safety and residue studies to generate the required data for the APVMA registration submission.

AgriFutures Australia, supported by AGVET Access Grant Program funding through the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE), conducted the crop safety studies for oaten hay production, while GRDC invested in the required grain residue studies including hay and forage samples.

Field trials and data generation are only one part of the process. The label is owned by the chemical registrant, and they are required to prepare and make the submission to the APVMA. Nufarm provided the regulatory expertise to compile the submission based on their TriflurX® label, which is now the only product to carry this registration.

GRDC Manager Chemical Regulation Gordon Cumming says that the registration would come as a relief to oat growers, particularly in Western and South Australia, where the majority of Australia’s oats and oaten hay are produced.

“Grass weed control and lack of chemical options in oat crops compared to the other major cereals has been a significant and ongoing issue for oat growers,” says Mr Cumming.

“This is an excellent outcome for growers, who can now be confident of the ongoing availability of a pre-emergent herbicide as part of their weed control options. With the current minor use registration expiring on 31 March this year, this result is extremely timely.

“GRDC was pleased to support this cross-industry work with Nufarm, AgriFutures Australia and industry groups such as GIWA to enable the national registration.”

The initial minor use permit for trifluralin was obtained in 2017 through the collaborative efforts of GRDC, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), ConsultAg and GIWA.