Plant research unlocks key to better crops

Pioneering research by Charles Sturt University’s Professor Leslie Weston has improved the agricultural and commercial farming industries’ understanding of crop protection. Her research, focused on chemical ecology and physiology, and the interactions between plants, weeds, herbivores and pests, as well as biocontrol organisms, was recognised in 2023 when she was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

Her work on preventing herbicide resistance in common pasture and crop weeds, along with developing alternative management strategies for weeds and livestock pests, has provided “big picture solutions” for farming. Professor Weston says that, together with industry and other scientists, “we work on systems-based approaches to understanding how competitive crops work or how we can protect a plant or livestock from interactions that are detrimental”.