Charles Sturt University’s Gulbali Institute named one of four key nodes for the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s landmark $47 million Weed Management Initiative.
Charles Sturt University’s Gulbali Institute is delighted to be named one of four key nodes for the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) landmark $47 million Weed Management Initiative (WMI) – a bold, 5.5-year national effort to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions for one of the most persistent challenges in Australian agriculture.
The initiative aims to revolutionise weed control practices through cutting-edge research, development and extension (RD&E), combining national collaboration with regionally tailored strategies.
The Gulbali Institute’s Weed Science team will lead a regional node based at Charles Sturt’s Wagga Wagga campus, working alongside leading institutions: The University of Queensland, the University of Adelaide and The University of Western Australia. Together, these nodes will address the escalating issue of herbicide resistance and the evolving dynamics of weed populations to directly benefit Australian grain growers.
The Charles Sturt node will be led by Professor Michael Walsh, Professor of Plant Science and Horticulture, with a highly experienced research team comprising Dr John Broster, Dr Asad Asaduzzaman, Dr Remy Dehaan, Dr Shawn McGrath and Professor Leslie Weston.
The WMI’s research will focus on three critical pillars:
This national collaboration marks a significant investment in the future of Australian grains, strengthening our capacity to combat herbicide resistance and deliver regionally relevant, science-backed weed management solutions.
The $47 million GRDC Weed Management Initiative will transform weed control strategies across Australian grain-growing regions by addressing herbicide resistance through coordinated national research and regional innovation.
Research problem
Weeds remain one of the most costly and persistent threats to grain production in Australia, with escalating herbicide resistance reducing the effectiveness of conventional control measures.
Collaborators
The Gulbali Institute at Charles Sturt University, The University of Queensland, the University of Adelaide, The University of Western Australia.
Outcomes
The initiative will deliver new insights into weed adaptation and resistance mechanisms, trial integrated control approaches and support evidence-based recommendations for sustainable weed management.
Impact
Generating region-specific and nationally coordinated solutions, the program will reduce reliance on herbicides, improve crop yields, and enhance the long-term viability of Australia’s grains industry. Beneficiaries Australian grain growers and agribusinesses, with broader benefits to rural communities, agricultural researchers and national food security.
Soil researchers at Charles Sturt University and Can Tho University in southern Vietnam are working together to plot a more productive path forward for rice farmers and their farms in the Mekong River Delta.
Professor Andrew Hall is leading an effort to improve the mapping of the Murray-Darling wetlands to inform water management planning and maximise the ecological benefits from limited environmental water flows.
A new multi-phase study is exploring a promising, sustainable solution to soil salinity – using bio-fertiliser-based organic amendments to restore balance, improve nutrient uptake and reduce salt stress in crops.
Charles Sturt researchers have codeveloped the Australian Wine Industry Gender Equity Toolkit, a Wine Australia and Australian Grape & Wine resource to support the practical advancement of gender equity and inclusivity practices across the Australian wine sector.
Charles Sturt University’s Gulbali Institute named one of four key nodes for the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s landmark $47 million Weed Management Initiative.
Action research supports Resilient Villages project to build disaster resilience in vulnerable Blue Mountains communities.
Professor Cameron Clark delivered a training program at the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute to improve Napier grass management.
The Gulbali Institute-led FishTech Cambodia project was presented to the King, the Prime Minister and other senior officials during the National Ploughing Ceremony in Cambodia.
The Oxford Handbook of Speech Development in Languages of the World, edited by Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod, represents a landmark contribution to inclusive, multilingual speech research.
Researchers are tagging and acoustically tracking migrating fish in the Murray-Darling Basin to recover our native fish populations and revive our rivers.
Winemakers, apple and cherry producers in the Central West, southern NSW and Tasmania will be better prepared for future droughts after a funding grant of $7.94 million was awarded to Charles Sturt University for a new research project.
Research highlights the potential of dsRNA-based biopesticides for sustainable agriculture.
Charles Sturt researchers are assessing how nature-based interventions may provide mental health benefits and could be structured to implement within existing mental health services.
Charles Sturt University launched an Audit of the current state of Australian democratic life in February 2025.
Charles Sturt academics participate in research to reduce the debilitating effects of knee osteoarthritis.
The Cool Soil Initiative at Charles Sturt is a paddock-to-product partnership.
Researchers at the Gulabali Institute, led by Dr Amina Price, have successfully bred the critically endangered Stocky Galaxias in captivity for the second consecutive year.
Two leading Charles Sturt University researchers have been named in an annual celebration of Australian research excellence across 250 disciplines.
AI and Cyber Futures Senior Research Fellow and Program Lead of Defence and Cybersecurity, Dr Fendy Santoso, has successfully secured federal government funding to enhance the resilience of cybersecurity measures for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems.
Professor Allen Ross from the Rural Health Research Institute and colleagues have just published a ground-breaking NHMRC-funded trial that will help eliminate schistosomiasis in Asia.
Our Cool Soil Initiative has secured close to $2.1 million AUD to spearhead research in sustainable agriculture and expand the Initiative into new regions and commodities.
Charles Sturt University aligns our research, policies, procedures, and other work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are the most relevant SDGs for this initiative.
