Thirty years-plus of WRO research at your fingertips

Weed Research Organization (WRO)/Long Ashton Technical and Biennial reports – now digitised and available online

BCPC has expanded its Digital Knowledge Bank to include over 30 years of reports from the Weed Research Organization.

Between 1963 and 1995, 111 technical reports were published. Many of these reports present data from glasshouse evaluations on pre-emergence and post-emergence activity of individual herbicides on a wide range of temperate and tropical crops and weeds.  However, a range of other topics is also covered e.g. aquatic weed control, weed surveys, methods for analysis of herbicides, methods for determining effects of herbicides on microorganisms, growing weeds from seeds for experimental purposes, amenity weed control, effects of herbicides on field margin flora etc.

Ten WRO annual/biennial reports (1960 – 1983) have also been digitised and these include articles on a wide range of weed-related topics. The authoritative 296-page book ‘Wild-oats in World Agriculture’ was written largely by WRO staff and published in 1976.

These publications are now, for the first time, available online and to online searches following digitisation arranged by the BCPC with funding from Chadacre Agricultural Trust, Felix Cobbold Trust, Perry Foundation, Douglas Bomford Trust, and The Morley Agricultural Foundation organised by AgriFood Charities Partnership (AFCP).

Much of the information in the technical reports is still relevant as many of the herbicides evaluated are still widely used globally. Companies looking for ‘new’ uses for ‘old’ herbicides might find this a useful resource as the reports include detailed, independent information on both crop selectivity and efficacy against major weeds.

The full text of all 111 WRO Reports and Annual/Biennial Reports has been added to BCPC’s searchable Knowledge Bank which also includes over 50 years of past proceedings from BCPC conferences and symposia.

All reports are available, free of charge, as downloadable PDFs. To access this unique resource go to the BCPC Knowledge Bank.

Pic: Teddy Llovet