An unusually wet summer last year has cotton growers concerned about the possibly devastating impact of spray drift as farmers try to stay on top of emerging weeds with good crops of cotton coming out of the ground.

Cotton Australia (CA) is partnering with Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries (DPI) to step up preparation for spray drift incidents and warn of the consequences of poor spraying practices.

CA policy officer for Research and Development and Stewardship Doug McCollum said that spray drift is a risk every season, and that 2024-25 is no exception. “Fallow spraying will commence as winter crops are harvested, and weeds germinate on subsequent rain events.

“The risk of spray drift can be mitigated by ensuring that the applicator is trained and licenced, all label instructions are followed closely, and the spray applications are carried out according to best practice and in the right conditions.”

The 2022-23 season saw one of the worst years on record for spray drift with some farmers suffering millions of dollars’ worth of lost production. Farmers in the Macintyre and Balonne regions alone, lost tens of millions in production due to spray drift but the losses were felt far and wide with moderate to severe spray drift incidents on the Darling Downs, Mungindi, Gwydir, Lower Namoi, Walgett and the Macquarie Valley.

CA CEO Adam Kay said the 2023-24 season saw relatively few reports of spray drift damage. “Cotton is particularly sensitive to spray drift from Group 4 herbicides (phenoxy herbicides including 2,4-D) and any adverse incidents have a financial impact on our growers, which is why Cotton Australia continues to train, educate and communicate regularly on what is expected.

“We also ask all our farmers to map their activities on SataCrop, which can map all crop types, including cotton, grains and tree crops.”

With SataCrop growers log in and plot the location of fields they have planted allowing others to review the site when planning spray applications to see the location of potentially sensitive neighbouring crops.

“Another important tool is the 100 Weather and Networked Data (WAND) spray hazard identification towers stretching from Emerald in Queensland to the Victorian border.”

The Grains and Cotton Research and Development Corporations initiative in conjunction with Goanna Ag, has seen more than 2,000 cotton and grain growers, and spray operators register to use WAND towers to identify, in real time, whether a hazardous inversion is present helping their decision to spray, and when not to spray.

Doug McCollum said wet weather in much of NSW provides for an excellent summer crop. “The real risks start now! In Queensland most winter crops are off while further south they are still going. Weeds in fallow are inevitable, and growers will want to control weeds ready for their winter crops.

To sign up for WAND visit: https://www.goannaag.com/wand-network

For Satacrop visit: https://satacrop.com.au/