THE latest weapon in the battle to reduce weed seed banks will soon be tested on several farms.
The Harrington seed destructor has been developed by West Australian inventor Ray Harrington, from Cordering in the state's southern grainbelt, with assistance from the WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
The machine is pulled behind a harvester like a chaff cart and crushes weed seeds so they won't germinate.
"We are getting exceptional results," Ray said.
"Testing by the WAHRI shows more than 90 per cent of weed seeds are being destroyed."
Ray said most of the material ended up as dust and other seeds had their kernels cracked, which halted germination or cut vigour.
"'Stopping viable weed seeds getting on the ground will quickly drive down the seed bank," he said.
"That's great for management now and helps to prevent resistance in the future. The plan is to have four or five machines available by the 2010 harvest as the final stage of testing.
"There is a lot of interest among growers."
