May 2022  -  Weed Science Webinar Series Shifting Focus to Mechanisms

Beginning next week, the Weed Science Webinar Series, which is being hosted by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA), will shift in focus from tactics of weed management to the mechanisms.

The three webinars will address basic research topics associated with how weeds and invasive plants are able to do what they do and why, which is key for developing sustainable management strategies. If we don't know the why and the how, then the way that we manage is often continuous repetition, which can have deleterious effects and unintended consequences. We'll start by hearing about plant physiology and competition, then invasive plant control at the molecular level, and finally a look at herbicide resistance. This fundamental weed science research serves a critical role as the building block upon which applied approaches are developed by researchers and used by practitioners.

Each webinar will occur every Tuesday from 2-3 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) and include an interactive Q&A session. Below are additional details including presentation title and speaker information.

• May 3 - Role of Plant Physiology in Weed-Crop Competition: Dave Horvath, Research Plant Physiologist at the Sunflower and Plant Biology Research Unit in Fargo, ND
• May 10 - Molecular Basis for Controlling Invasive Plants: Matt Tancos, Research Plant Pathologist at the Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit in Fort Detrick, MD
• May 17 - Addressing Herbicide Resistance with Alternative Chemistries: Scott Baerson, Molecular Biologist at the Natural Products Utilization Research Unit in Oxford, MS

 The webinar series is free. WSSA membership is not required. To register for the webinar series, visit here.

If you missed any of the previous webinars or want to watch them again, they have all been recorded and can be found here: https://go.usa.gov/xzHja