- Author: Emily Dooley
- Posted by: Gale Perez
AI enables low-cost tracking of invasive johnsongrass
To manage johnsongrass, a noxious weed that crowds out cotton and sickens horses, farmers have tried herbicides, burning and hand-pulling. Now, researchers in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences have developed a more high-tech weapon against the invasive weed: artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Using photos from Google's Street View database, the researchers have tracked down more than 2,000 cases of johnsongrass in the Western United States for a fraction of the cost and time that it would take for drive-by or other in-person surveys. They call their tool Google Weed View.
The advancement could...
/h2>- Author: Bradley Hanson
A group of crop pest management and food safety researchers across the U.S. is currently gathering grower and ag industry information on field equipment sanitation practices with the ultimate goal of designing research to address needs of the agricultural industry and consumers.
My interest in California is largely driven by concerns about spreading seeds of the CDFA "A-list" parasitic weeds branched broomrape and related species in processing tomato, a topic with lots of current research. However, the risks of moving new pests around on field...
- Contributor: Drew Lyon
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Spring canola acreage in Eastern Washington has increased dramatically over the past five years. Much of this increase has been driven by the inability of growers to control multiple herbicide-resistant Italian ryegrass in other crops, such as wheat and pulse crops. A large percentage of the spring canola acreage is planted to glyphosate-resistant (Roundup Ready) varieties. Glyphosate has provided excellent control of Italian ryegrass in glyphosate-resistant spring canola. How long it will remain an effective herbicide for Italian ryegrass is an open question.
Over the past two years (2022 and 2023), we conducted field studies to evaluate the benefits of using herbicides with different...
- Author: Mick Canevari
- Author: Brent A Holtz
- Posted by: Gale Perez
The 2023 post-harvest season is upon us and it's time to prep for your fall/winter weed control activities. The long-range forecast is calling for another wet winter, and November is the ideal time to plan your early winter weed control program, to check that your spray equipment is functioning properly and calibrated, and to clean your orchard floor of nuts and debris.
There are a variety of herbicides available today for our tree and vine production systems. No one herbicide will control all the weeds present, but choices exist to achieve excellent control for almost every weed combination. However, it takes patience and persistence to win the weed war. Before programs are decided, the following key questions should be...
- Contributor: Marcelo Moretti
- Contributor: Inga Zasada
- Contributor: Jerry Weiland
- Contributor: Tatiana Benedetti
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I'll share some initial findings from our project, which explores the use of pulse electric fields to eliminate soil pests in hardwood nursery beds, with a particular focus on the impact on weed populations.
Pulse Electric Field as an Alternative to Methyl Bromide
Methyl bromide, a broad-spectrum pesticide for soil disinfection, weed control, and soilborne fungi and nematodes management, is also notorious for its ozone-depleting properties. Consequently, its usage in agriculture has been progressively phased out. Though some essential applications persist, the increasing costs and stringent regulatory standards have made it a less practical choice for pest control.
Pulse Electric Field...