SSMG-15 (S. Clay and G. Johnson)

Scouting for Weeds

Summary:

The concept behind scouting for weeds is to provide accurate and timely information needed to make intelligent, cost effective decisions. Moreover, scouting is a key component in the design of effective weed management strategies that help to manage risks by providing information needed to optimize the correct timing of herbicides and accurately monitor weed management successes and failures (Wallace, 1994). This requires one to think about dynamic and flexible weed management systems to meet challenging demands. Adaptive sampling strategies (rather than fixed strategies such as grid sampling) are flexible and build on previous information and experience. Adaptive approaches also result in more dynamic data gathering systems that can be used to determine if the current weed management system is or is not meeting your goals. We can also assess if given weed species are increasing or decreasing in density and area. Being able to adjust sampling strategies based on previous observations is critical and must be taken into account each year. Experience coupled with flexibility is the key to obtaining reliable data needed to make intelligent site-specific weed management decisions. However, we must recognize that here is no single scouting strategy that is best in all situations and that each strategy has advantages and disadvantages.

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