SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report

Sections

Basic Information
Additional Info

Status: Approved

Basic Information

Project No. and Title: NC1026 : Characterize Weed Population Dynamics for Improved Long-Term Weed Management Decision Making (NC202)
Period Covered: 07/01/2006 to 07/01/2007
Date of Report: 11/15/2007
Annual Meeting Dates: 07/31/2007 to 07/31/2007

Sharon Clay (SD), Don Wyse (MN), James Parochetti (CSREES), John Cardina (OH), Frank Forcella (MN, USDA-ARS), John Lindquist (NE), Christy Sprague (MI), Doug Buhler (Administrative Advisor, MI), Adam Davis (IL, USDA-ARS), Bruce Maxwell (MT), Anita Dille (KS), Analiza Haydee Ramirez (KS), David Archer (MN, USDA-ARS), Joel Felix (OR)

Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Legacy attachment file:

[Minutes]

Accomplishments

The overarching goal of the NC1026 project and its multi-state group of collaborators is to determine the importance of representing demographic realism within weed decision support systems (DSS) and to facilitate incorporating the information that can best help to improve weed management decision-making. Over the course of the last two years, the most widely used weed management DSS, WeedSOFT, was overhauled to determine the importance of how weeds that survive management treatment affect decisions recommended by the software. Our examination revealed that some fundamental processes, such as a lack of synchrony in weed emergence, were not and could not be represented within the current framework. Therefore, we initiated a plan to create a simplified version of WeedSOFT and compare its decision-making performance with a set of more demographically realistic alternatives in order to assess the value of changing how it represents weed-crop competition and the response of weed populations to various management interventions. The WeedSOFT program itself is currently under revision for distribution via the worldwide web. The group also accomplished a great deal experimentally. Six collaborators have conducted the demography experiment (Objective 1a) over two growing seasons. The demography information provided by the regional experiment will provide a means for assessing the importance of modifying the structure of a DSS like WeedSOFT so as to incorporate a more realistic representation of the impact of weeds and how they respond to management. Initial reports from those conducting the soil training experiments (Objective 1b) were also very interesting and could strongly influence our assessment of the value of adding additional biological realism into weed decision support tools. If the weed decision support tools are to evolve beyond herbicide selection for different crop-weed scenarios, it will be through efforts like this regional project.

Impacts

Members of NC1026 developed the computer-based decision support system, WeedSOFT, which is distributed to more than 500 users in 9 states over the last two years.
NC202 (prior to NC1026) research showed that research conducted at multiple locations throughout the region over multiple years provide better information for decision making than single location experiments.
NC1026 research showed that weed germination and emergence is environment specific and understanding the mechanisms controlling these factors are required to effectively predict where and when weeds problems will occur.
Members of NC1026 showed that weeds surviving sublethal doses of pre- and post-emergent herbicides often do not effect crop yield and produce substantially fewer seeds than untreated weeds.
NC1026 research has improved and strengthened the weed management recommendations of WeedSOFT and other decision-support software.
Members of NC1026 are now working to include this research-based information into educational modules for a web-delivered version of WeedSOFT.
NC1026 research created greater insight into how management strategies and environmental factors influence the degradation and longevity of weed seed banks.

Publications

Terra, B. R. M., A. R. Martin and J. L. Lindquist. 2007. Corn-velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) interference is affected by sublethal doses of postemergence herbicides. Weed Science 55:491-496. Hock, S. M., S. Z. Knezevic, A. R. Martin and J. L. Lindquist. 2006. Performance of WeedSOFT for predicting soybean yield loss. Weed Technology 20:478-484.

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