Prepare for the 2026 season now

As 2025 wraps up, now's a critical time to tidy paddocks and prepare for the 2026 cropping year.

Summer weeds and volunteer plants aren’t just competitors for moisture and nutrients; they serve as hosts and refuges for pests that threaten the next crop. A strategic summer clean-up will pay dividends next season.

Why summer weeds matter

• Summer weeds compete for moisture and key nutrients, reducing what’s available for crop establishment.
• Weeds host pests and act as a green bridge into the next season.
• Early control of weeds (when small and actively growing) improves herbicide efficacy and lowers resistance risk.

Pest risk starts now

• Summer broadleaf weeds, like marshmallow or regrowth canola, allow aphids (green peach aphid) and viruses (TuYV) to persist over summer, increasing early-season pressure.
• Mites, like the redlegged earth mite (RLEM), benefit from summer weeds that retain moisture and shelter, increasing autumn-hatch and feeding-risk at sowing.
• The green refuge of summer weeds and volunteer plants supports pest snails that damage seedlings and contaminate harvests.
• Soil-dwelling pests favour paddocks with high summer weed-loads or volunteer crops.