The Importance Of Summer Weed Control

20 November 2025, AU: Continuing the focus on helping farmers optimise production inputs to increase farm profitability, this article highlights the critical role of summer weed control and how to implement it effectively.

Popular estimates suggest that every dollar spent on summer weed control can return up to $8 per hectare in the next crop, a compelling reason to ensure it’s done properly. 

Why control weeds in summer?

Effective control of summer weeds offers several key benefits:

• Prevents next season’s weed problems: It begins with crop-topping to reduce the number of viable seeds remaining from the current crop.
• Conserves moisture and nitrogen: Post-harvest sprays are essential for preserving soil moisture and unused nitrogen, both of which significantly impact yield and profitability.
• Breaks the “green bridge”: Eliminates the pathway pests and diseases use to survive between crops.
• Reduces the weed seed bank: Limits the number of summer-surviving weeds ahead of the next crop.
• Improves sowing efficiency: Minimises mechanical interference from established weeds, leading to more uniform sowing depth and better crop establishment. Every grower understands the frustration of stoppages caused by weed blockages when “chasing moisture” during tight sowing windows.

Thanks to technological advances in application technology, farmers are no longer restricted to conventional full-area boom sprayers.

Summer weed control is rapidly evolving toward weed-seeker technologies, which use camera-guided systems to achieve precise spot-spraying of isolated weeds, offering greater speed, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

Additionally, low-volume drone spraying and weed-mapping drones are gaining popularity. These systems can locate, identify, and size weeds across a paddock, then convert that data into a prescription map for GPS-guided spot spraying.

Regardless of the spraying technique used, several core principles remain essential to achieving the best results from summer weed control:

Weed identification

While a single non-selective herbicide may control most weeds present, certain species may require the addition of a second herbicide mode of action for effective control. Accurate identification ensures the right products are used from the outset.

Timing, weed size, and resistance profile

Timing is critical. Weeds should be targeted when they are small and actively growing, but not so small that they lack sufficient leaf area to absorb the herbicide. If left too late, weeds develop tougher, waxy leaves that are harder to penetrate. Understanding the resistance and susceptibility profile of the weed population helps ensure the correct herbicide is applied at the appropriate rate.

Nozzles, droplet size, and coverage

Nozzle type, spray volume, and pressure all influence droplet size and coverage. Summer conditions, including high temperatures, low humidity, UV degradation, and rapid evaporation, demand equipment that can deliver the right droplet spectrum. In these conditions, the choice of spray adjuvant becomes especially important.

Spray adjuvant selection

Not all adjuvants are the same. Their effectiveness varies depending on their respective composition and attributes. Some are specifically formulated to enhance deposition and coverage under challenging summer conditions, making them an indispensable addition to the spray mix. Consider using the following Agrion products:

ANTIEVAP® is especially designed for use during fallow and summer spraying and is especially effective in adverse (hot and dry) weather conditions. This 100 per cent petroleum-based adjuvant reduces loss of herbicide active ingredient to evaporation by encapsulating the droplets in the spray solution. Uniform spray droplets help to penetrate the waxy cuticle of leaves.

PLANTOCROP® is a highly penetrating esterified seed oil blend designed to enhance the penetrating properties of in-crop, post-em herbicides, certain insecticides, and desiccants. It combines the penetration effect of esterified seed oil with the wetting and spreading characteristics of non-ionic surfactants. 

COMPANION® SURFACTANT is an acidifying and penetrating adjuvant for use with herbicides and other product types. It acts as a water conditioner by reducing alkaline hydrolysis through acidification of spray mixtures and assists with the uptake of foliar fertilizers and management of spray droplet size to minimise spray drift. 

ENHANCE® is a premium crop oil concentrate for use when herbicide labels specify the use of this adjuvant type. It is designed to improve the wetting and spreading of herbicides and desiccants through waxy, hard-to-wet leaf surfaces. 

WETOUT® is a new generation, low-rate, high-spreading  non-ionic wetting agent to enhance the performance of herbicides in sprays with coarse droplets; notably from flat-fan and other high-shear nozzles. 

WETTA1000® is a biodegradable wetting and spreading agent for use with knockdown and residual herbicides. Contains 100 per cent non-ionic surfactant as recommended by many herbicide labels. It improves herbicide activity through improved wetting, absorption, and spray coverage. 

Also Read: UPL’s Low-Methane Rice Project Wins Global SBCOP Award at COP30

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