NESTLED among the mass of trees and native plants that dot Perth's King's Park is a little-known research facility that is on the cusp of delivering a product that will revolutionise weed control in WA.
Built in 2005 and staffed by about 60 scientists and research students, the Kings Park Biodiversity Conservation Centre focuses on research into native species, conservation and site restoration.
About three years ago it announced that it had discovered a chemical that could artificially stimulate germination in many plants; now, the technology to apply this compound has moved a step closer to reality, and the benefits to agricultural industries are enormous indeed.
Imagine if you could force every weed in the paddock to germinate at exactly the same time, so rather than wage a war with them at different times of the season, you could kill them off all at once.
Research done at the University of WA and Kings Park found that a chemical in common smoke was capable of triggering this effect, and, under the guidance of Dr Kinglsey Dixon at the Centre, work has been carried out in the past few years on the biological and ecological aspects of this discovery.
A team of scientists and collaborators have isolated the one chemical in smoke which will help speed up the revegetation of mined land, accelerate the recovery of fire ravaged vegetation and boost farmers' battles with the weeds taking over their fields.
The chemical, called karrikinolide in honour of the Nyoongar people who have always used smoke' therapy' in the landscape (karrik being Nyoongar for smoke), can be derived from burning any plant material. Amazingly, it has the ability to 'awaken' even the most difficult seeds and get them to germinate.
Professor Dixon said while plant-derived smoke already achieved a 48-55 fold increase in germination even in post mine site conditions, knowing the isolated chemical will make the process more cost effective and achieve vastly improved biodiversity values.
"This presents the resources industries, particularly in a biodiverse region like WA, with an outstanding opportunity to potentially reduce their carbon footprints," he said.
"Manufacturing an artificial version of the chemical could be used worldwide to speed up the recovery of degraded vegetation and the restoration of land affected by mining."
What Professor Dixon's team didn't expect to discover was that the molecule also triggers germination of plants that rarely or never experience fire, including some important agricultural weeds.
Dr Rowena Long, who conducts research into using karrikinolide for weed management, said that seeds from some of Australia's most noxious farming weeds, such as wild radish and wild oats, can be induced to germinate using rates equivalent to a teaspoon of active agent in a suburban swimming pool of water.
"This opens up the prospect of using karrikinolide to make weed seeds sprout before a crop is planted. Fewer herbicide applications would then be needed while the crop is growing, which is good news for farmers and the environment," she said.
Dr Long, Professor Dixon and collaborating scientists at UWA are now investigating commercial options so industry, members of the public and the environment can start benefiting from the technology.
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