Research by Cathryn O’Sullivan from CSIRO is showing that some weeds release chemicals from their roots that slow down the bacteria that are essential to the nitrogen cycle, retaining nitrogen in the ammonium form that weeds can potentially take up faster than crop plants.In this research, Cathryn focused on some common Australian weeds, including wild radish, brome grass, wild oats and annual ryegrass. Wild radish was particularly strong in being able to manipulate the nitrogen cycle, demonstrating why it's so competitive with the crop. For more on this research, take a listen to Jessica Strauss chatting with Cathryn O'Sullivan on the podcast below. Music: bensound.com

You can follow AHRI on Twitter here. To learn more about AHRI's research and team, check out the website here.