I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Western Society of Weed Science last week down in Albuquerque, and it was a great time! As always there was quality information presented throughout the meeting along with great discussion about weeds inside and outside of the sessions. There were over 250 people in attendance, fifty of whom were students. Sixty five posters were presented and ninety two talks were given about weeds, with sessions in agricultural crops, horticultural crops, rangelands, basic biology, and teaching/technology.
In the general session there was an interesting public interest story mentioned. It was about goats being used for invasive weed control within a park in Salem, Oregon. Seventy five of the animals were hired to help control weeds in the park and they did a good job at eating them! Although, unfortunately, they ate a lot of the desirable vegetation in the park as well. The program has been disbanded for that particular location, but the city may use goats as weed control agents in other areas. Here is a link if you would like to read the whole story:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2016/02/25/salem-gives-goats-boot/80860622/
Speaking of invasive weeds, one of the more interesting posters I saw presented was a study looking at perennial pepperweed control and the effect on endangered plant populations down around Pacifica, California. It was presented by Brenda Grewell with the USDA ARS out of Davis. They were able to use a combination of spot and wiper herbicide treatments to reduce the populations of perennial pepperweed, and in turn the populations of the endangered plant species showed dramatic increases in cover! I love hearing a success story when weed control goes right. (PDF of poster below.)
Herbicide resistance is always a hot topic at weed science conferences, and this one was no exception. There was research presented about resistance in hairy fleabane, palmer amaranth, kochia, and jungle rice just to name a few. Much of the resistance research was devoted to finding alternative control methods, other research explored the physiological mechanisms of resistance, and some research delved into tracking the evolution of resistant species. A very engaging talk, given by Dr. Kniss from the University of Wyoming, entitled “Is early detection and rapid response the only viable approach for herbicide resistance management?” drew a large crowd, with many people left standing in the back of the room.
Shifting gears, there was a strong showing of attendees from the UC system with specialists, project scientists, advisors, and multiple UC Davis students attending. Attendees from California were not just limited to the public sector, as many people who work in the private sector of the weed control industry came to the conference. It is a wonderful opportunity to hear and learn about challenges and successes of weed control work from a variety of different perspectives.
Overall this conference was full of an excellent group of people who have dedicated their lives to weed control. If you are into weeds and would like to hear about weed control research being done in the western United States, think about attending next year's meeting from March 13-16 up in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho!