Sugar Research Australia (SRA) has collaborated with the developers of a global app, to provide Australian sugarcane growers with a free tool to easily identify weeds and other invasive flora on-farm.

Pl@ntNet is a free app that uses automated recognition technology to identify plants, by uploading images onto the platform. Growers can simply take a photo of the weed they want to identify and Pl@ntNet will do the rest.

SRA Weed Scientist Emilie Fillols worked with the Pl@ntNet team to create a sugarcane-specific micro-project on the platform, titled ‘Weeds of Sugarcane in Australia’, to allow Australian cane growers to easily identify weeds in their crops.

“Yield losses from weed competition, along with the cost of weed control on sugarcane farms is estimated to cost Australian cane growers more than $84 million nationally each year,” Ms Fillols said.

“Identifying weeds is crucial to good weed management, which is why we have developed this online resource for growers to easily identify weeds on-the-spot, saving time and money, and assisting in improved weed control.”

Downloaded by more than 12 million users world-wide, the app allows for ‘micro-projects’ to be added to the platform that relate to a specific industry, topic or location.

The app works by analysing images uploaded by the grower onto Pl@ntNet. The app then compares the images to a library bank of images of known, identifiable weeds stored in Pl@ntNet. Plants that most resemble the species will be displayed on the screen.

“It’s important if a grower sees a weed that they have never seen before, that they are able to quickly identify it,” Ms Fillols said.

“Thanks to Pl@ntNet, this can now be done easily, on-the-spot, and right in the palm of a grower’s hand.”

In the past, SRA has produced materials, such as hardcopy books and online information sheets, to assist growers with identification of weeds. However, Pl@ntNet offers a more cost-effective and time-saving option.

The App can be used on both iPhone and Android devices and can be downloaded free via the App Store or Google Play. It’s also available as a web version. Once growers are logged in, they should click the ‘special flora’ option, then scroll down and click on the ‘micro-projects’ tab, before choosing ‘Weeds of Sugarcane in Australia’. This way there is a greater chance for the app to identify the correct matching species and display its Australian common name.

The Weeds of Sugarcane in Australia micro-project was a collaboration between SRA and Pl@ntNet, and was funded from the SRA Far North District Productivity Plan.

For more information on Pl@ntNet and how to use the app go to: https://sugarresearch.com.au/growers/weeds/plantnet/

Media Contacts:

SRA Head of Communications:
Alisa Cork
0409 777 249
acork@sugarresearch.com.au