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Weed Survey System used in Saskatchewan for Cereal and Oilseed Crops

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

A. Gordon Thomas*
Affiliation:
Agric. Can. Res. Stn., Box 440, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3A2, Canada

Abstract

A weed survey system methodology was developed and used annually for 4 yr in the province of Saskatchewan. Based on a stratified random sampling procedure, fields were selected in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), rape (Brassica napus L., Brassica campestris L.), and flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) crops. The boundaries of the 43 agricultural extension districts in the province formed the strata. The provincial agricultural extension service provided staff to conduct the survey. Computer processing of the data enabled reports, containing summary tables and distribution maps, to be distributed to extension, research, and industry personnel within 3 months after completion of the field survey. The field surveys were conducted late in the growing season before harvest commenced; hence, the weed populations consisted of species that had been present during the early part of the growing season and may have contributed to yield losses. During the 4 yr of the survey, weeds were counted in 4423 fields. Of the 164 species recorded, 97 species occurred in more than three fields. Only 29 species were encountered frequently in the fields. Green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv. # SETVI), wild buckwheat (Polygonum convolvulus L. # POLCO), and wild oat (Avena fatua L. # AVEFA) were the top three species based on a ranking system using a measure called relative abundance.

Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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