The impact of seed production by subthreshold weed populations on future weed problems has impeded the adoption of integrated pest-management principles for weed management. Studies were conducted in fields with no velvetleaf history to determine how seedbanks and seedling populations change following seed production 1 yr or 5 consecutive yr in plow-disk and no-tillage corn. Cumulative seed production by 0.19 velvetleaf plants m−2 increased in a linear fashion from 1989 to 1994, with annual additions averaging from 330 seeds m−2 for velvetleaf in corn to 2,500 seeds m−2 for velvetleaf without competition from corn. Five-year cumulative seed production was 1,480 seeds m−2 in plow-disk and 1,810 seeds m−2 in no-till corn. In no-till corn, 42 velvetleaf seedlings m−2 emerged the 1st year after the 1989 seed rain, but only 35 seedlings m−2 emerged over the next 4 yr. In plow-disk plots, annual emergence averaged 12 seedlings m−2. Five years after the 1989 seed rain, the proportion of seeds lost to emergence was about 20% in both tillage treatments. Where velvetleaf seeds were allowed to return to the soil every year, cumulative seedling emergence was lower in plow-disk than in no-till corn, with total emergence of 70 and 360 seedlings m−2, respectively, after 5 yr. Seedbank numbers ranged from 10 seeds m−2 5 yr after a single seed rain (290 seeds m−2) by velvetleaf in plow-disk corn to 1,020 seeds m−2 following 5 consecutive yr of seed rain where 12,580 seeds m−2 were returned without corn competition in no-till. Seedbank samples in the fall of the 5th year had 69 to 98% fewer seeds than were accounted for by cumulative seed rain and seedling emergence, with greater apparent seed losses in plow-disk corn than in no-till corn. Over 90% velvetleaf control would be required annually to maintain subthreshold populations for 5 yr following a single seed rain. By comparison, over 95% control would be required annually to maintain subthreshold populations where velvetleaf seed return is permitted each year.

Long term weed management programs for annual weeds should take into account seed production as well as yield losses from weeds. In this research economic optimum thresholds, determined with a simulation model, were compared to the economic thresholds derived from field studies with common sunflower and velvetleaf in soybean. An economic optimum threshold model, including a biological submodel and a submodel evaluating the financial benefit from controlling each weed species in soybean, was constructed to estimate the biological events and processes and economic costs of each weed. Long-term weed management programs were simulated in continuous soybean over a 15-yr period. The model optimized a POST treatment of bentazon by computing costs associated with weed interference and changes in estimated seedbank size. The economic optimum threshold populations were estimated to be 0.3 to 0.4 velvetleaf plants per 10 m2 and 0.4 common sunflower plants per 10 m2. The economic thresholds calculated to be 2.6 velvetleaf plants per 10 m2 and 1.5 common sunflower plants per 10 m2. The economic optimum threshold was calculated to be 7.5-fold and 3.6-fold lower than the economic thresholds for velvetleaf and common sunflower, respectively. The larger ratio for velvetleaf reflected the large quantity and longevity of seeds produced. The smaller ratio for common sunflower reflected the shorter persistence of the seeds and higher seed predation rates.

Shattercane interference in irrigated soybean was evaluated during 1987, 1988, and 1989 at Clay Center, NE, using ‘Rox’ forage sorghum to simulate shattercane. Soybean yield reduction did not occur if shattercane was removed by 2 wk after emergence in 1987 and 6 wk after emergence in 1988 and 1989. Shattercane interference with soybean began when shattercane height exceeded soybean height. Soybean yield was reduced up to 25% before the height differential reached 30 cm, the minimum difference required for selectively applying glyphosate with a wiper applicator. Soybean nodes per stem, pods per stem, and beans per pod decreased as duration of interference increased. A direct relationship between soybean yield loss and shattercane density fit a rectangular hyperbolic function. Yield loss per shattercane plant was highest at low shattercane densities. Soybean plant height, biomass, nodes per stem, pods per stem, pods per node, and beans per pod decreased as shattercane density increased. An interference model for estimation of soybean yield and economic loss based on shattercane density was developed.

The influence of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) interference on soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Ransom’] yield was studied in the field utilizing naturally occurring weed populations. The damage-threshold population for a full-season, in-row common ragweed infestation was four weeds/10 m of row, which resulted in an 8% yield loss. Soybeans kept weed-free for 2 weeks or longer after emergence in a dry year produced normal yields, but 4 weeks of weed-free maintenance was required when adequate moisture was available early in the growing season. Soybean yield was not reduced by a natural population of common ragweed if the period of interference was limited to 6 weeks or less after crop emergence. By 8 weeks after emergence, common ragweed height averaged 25 cm taller than soybeans, and the weed canopy intercepted 24% of the photosynthetically active radiation.

Relationships between volunteer barley plant density and both pea and volunteer barley yield were determined in field experiments conducted over 2 yr at Vegreville and Lethbridge, Alberta. Nonlinear regression analysis indicated that severe pea yield losses due to volunteer barley occurred at both locations. Averaged over both years, pea seed yield losses per volunteer barley plant (initial slopes) varied from 1.7% at Vegreville to 5.4% at Lethbridge. Based on certain assumptions, economic thresholds calculated from the equations were approximately 2 and 6 volunteer barley plants m−2 at Lethbridge and Vegreville, respectively. Revenue from the volunteer barley seed partially alleviated the monetary losses caused by the reduced pea seed yield. The effects of pea density on pea and volunteer barley yield were inconsistent and marginal. This suggested that there was little advantage, in terms of increasing pea yield or reducing volunteer barley interference, to seeding pea above the recommended rate of 100 plants m−2.

Alfalfa seed yield and quackgrass density were measured in seven irrigated fields in southern Alberta to assess the effect of quackgrass on seed yield. Six herbicides were tested to determine their effect on quackgrass growth and accompanying alfalfa seed yield. The effect of quackgrass on seed yield was adequately described by a hyperbolic model. Quackgrass densities of 50 and 100 heads per m2 reduced seed yields by 56 and 74%, respectively. The economic threshold density was 3 quackgrass heads per m2. The most effective herbicide treatments, quizalofop and propaquizafop, resulted in good initial quackgrass suppression and yield increases similar to those predicted by the hyperbolic model.

Field studies were conducted in 1987 and 1988 to evaluate the control and competitiveness of common lambsquarters in soybeans when present at four densities and when removed at four time intervals. Common lambsquarters were removed by hand or treated with a postemergence herbicide application of bentazon plus acifluorfen. Common lambsquarters could remain 10 weeks following soybean emergence before a 20% soybean yield reduction occurred when weeds were removed by hand. When treatment was attempted with postemergence herbicides, a 20% yield reduction occurred in 1987 if application was not made prior to 5 weeks after emergence. In 1988, all postemergence herbicide applications failed to control lambsquarters due to drought conditions. The postemergence herbicide's degree of control was reflected in the number of remaining lambsquarters plants. Common lambsquarters seed production and germination was not influenced by postemergence herbicide application. There was a strong correlation between dry weight of uncontrolled common lambsquarters plants and seed produced per plant.

Crop yield loss–weed density relationships critically influence calculation of economic thresholds and the resulting management recommendations made by a bioeconomic model. To examine site-to-site and year-to-year variation in winter Triticum aestivum L. (winter wheat)–Aegilops cylindrica Host. (jointed goatgrass) interference relationships, the rectangular hyperbolic yield loss function was fit to data sets from multiyear field experiments conducted at Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The model was fit to three measures of A. cylindrica density: fall seedling, spring seedling, and reproductive tiller densities. Two parameters: i, the slope of the yield loss curve as A. cylindrica density approaches zero, and a, the maximum percentage yield loss as A. cylindrica density becomes very large, were estimated for each data set using nonlinear regression. Fit of the model to the data was better using spring seedling densities than fall seedling densities, but it was similar for spring seedling and reproductive tiller densities based on the residual mean square (RMS) values. Yield loss functions were less variable among years within a site than among sites for all measures of weed density. For the one site where year-to-year variation was observed (Archer, WY), parameter a varied significantly among years, but parameter i did not. Yield loss functions differed significantly among sites for 7 of 10 comparisons. Site-to-site statistical differences were generally due to variation in estimates of parameter i. Site-to-site and year-to-year variation in winter T. aestivum–A. cylindrica yield loss parameter estimates indicated that management recommendations made by a bioeconomic model cannot be based on a single yield loss function with the same parameter values for the winter T. aestivum-producing region. The predictive ability of a bioeconomic model is likely to be improved when yield loss functions incorporating time of emergence and crop density are built into the model's structure.

Competitive and economic thresholds are distinctive and important concepts to weed scientists. The producer is most concerned about the economic threshold because of its importance in production decisions. The three additive research techniques to determine competitive weed thresholds are removal or plant-back, paired plot, and area of influence. Each method has advantages and disadvantages and must be conducted in a specific manner in the field. The area of influence technique is the most accurate for determining the influence of a single weed. Data must be reported in a usable form such as percent yield reduction. An example calculation for determining the two weed thresholds is illustrated with common cocklebur in soybeans. Generally, the economic threshold is one-half to one-third the competitive threshold.

The crop-weed interference relationship is a critical component of bioeconomic weed management models. Multi-year field experiments were conducted at five locations to determine the stability of corn-velvetleaf interference relationships across years and locations. Two coefficients (I and A) of a hyperbolic equation were estimated for each data set using nonlinear regression procedures. The I and A coefficients represent percent corn yield loss as velvetleaf density approaches zero, and maximum percent corn yield loss, respectively. The coefficient I was stable across years at two locations, but varied across years at one location. The coefficient A did not vary across years within locations. Both coefficients, however, varied among locations. Results do not support the use of common coefficient estimates for all locations within a region.

The concept of thresholds has many applications in weed science, depending on the response being measured. The most common adjectives used to describe thresholds are damage, economic, period, and action. Damage threshold is the term used to define the weed population at which a negative crop yield response is detected. An economic threshold is the weed population at which the cost of control is equal to the crop value increase from control of the weeds present. Economic threshold may be used to describe short-term effects of weed interference occurring in a single growing season, or multiple-season effects including some cost associated with seed produced by uncontrolled plants. The term period threshold implies that there are times during the crop cycle in which weeds are more or less damaging than at others. Action threshold is the point at which some control action is initiated, and usually includes economic considerations along with other less tangible factors such as aesthetics, risk aversion, or sociological pressures. Regardless of the type, thresholds imply that weed effects are population dependent, and as such, allow some type of prediction to be made relative to the consequences of control decisions. One successful approach to the implementation of thresholds has been through the development of computerized decision-aid software. These programs allow users to compare economic and environmental consequences of potential control actions before committing to one particular decision.

Studies were conducted in conventional and no-tillage corn in 1990, 1991, and 1992 at Wooster, OH, to measure corn yield and velvetleaf seed production in response to density of early and late emerging velvetleaf, and to estimate economic thresholds. The percent reduction in corn yield fit a hyperbolic function over velvetleaf densities from 1 to 30 plants m2. The percent yield loss and velvetleaf seed production were higher in a warm, wet year (1990) than in a dry (1991) or cold, wet year (1992). The percent corn yield reduction was generally greater in no-tillage than in conventional tillage and from early rather than late emerging velvetleaf. Maximum velvetleaf seed production ranged from about 18,000 seeds m2 for early emerging weeds in no-tillage in 1990 to 100 seeds m2 for late emerging weeds in no-tillage in 1992. The single year economic threshold for early emerging velvetleaf ranged from 0.40 to 14.0 velvetleaf m2 in conventional tillage and 0.13 to 3.13 in no-tillage. Economic thresholds that were predicted using yield goal information deviated from actual thresholds (using actual yields) for a given year by −43 to 30%. Single year economic thresholds were similar in both tillage treatments, but their value for management decisions is questionable due to variation among growing seasons and weed seed production from subthreshold populations.

A simulation model of rice-barnyardgrass competition for light was used for two management applications. First, simulations using 47 weather data sets from four locations in Asia were conducted to evaluate the influence of weather variation on single year economic threshold densities of barnyardgrass. Second, rapid leaf area expansion and leaf area index were evaluated as potential indicators of improved rice competitiveness and tolerance to barnyardgrass. Influence of weather variation on single year economic thresholds was small under the assumption that competition was for light only. Increasing early leaf area expansion rate reduced simulated barnyardgrass seed production and increased single year economic thresholds, suggesting that the use of competitive rice cultivars may reduce the need for chemical weed control. The model predicted that rice leaf area index 70 to 75 d after planting was a good indicator of early leaf area expansion rate.

Italian ryegrass interference in broccoli was measured in field experiments and the data fit a rectangular hyperbolic competition model. The model predicted 58% of broccoli yield loss related to Italian ryegrass density when pooled over three y. An economic threshold value of 4.9 Italian ryegrass plants m−1 of crop row was determined to be the density required to cause a 3.6% yield loss, equal to postemergence weed control costs. Italian ryegrass densities of 600 to 1000 plants m1 of broccoli row caused 100% yield loss.

The effects of quackgrass shoot populations shortly after emergence, and dry weight at harvest on yield of canola were determined in four field experiments conducted near Vegreville, Alberta in 1986 and 1988. A hyperbolic model described the data well in most cases and indicated little intraspecific quackgrass interference among quackgrass shoots until populations exceeded 200 shoots m−2. Magnitudes of predicted canola yield losses among experiments were close, even though quackgrass-free yields varied. A pooled hyperbolic equation, based on shoot density, predicted that an intermediate quackgrass infestation of 50 to 100 shoots m−2 would reduce canola yield by 18 to 32%. An economic threshold model based on the hyperbolic model provides a means of estimating when control of quackgrass with herbicides is economical.

Fringed sagebrush is a native, drought-resistant, increaser species in Saskatchewan pastures and rangelands. Conventional control by cultivating and reseeding is neither highly effective nor sustainable. Two field experiments were conducted in 1988 and 1989 through 1991 to develop a management plan for fringed sagebrush. Comparison of fringed sagebrush control using various applications of clopyralid, dicamba, dichlorprop, fluroxypyr, picloram, triclopyr and 2,4-D, showed control was sufficient using the low-cost herbicide 2,4-D isooctyl ester at 1.5 kg ai/ha. Total yield of crested wheatgrass plus smooth brome was compared and the plots subjected to two applications of 2,4-D yielded the greatest accumulation of grass over the length of the experiments. The economic threshold of fringed sagebrush is the density at which yield is reduced by approximately 290 kg/ha; above this density it is economically viable to use 2,4-D at 1.5 kg/ha to control fringed sagebrush. Grazing practices can aid greatly in management of fringed sagebrush by allowing the forage to out-compete fringed sagebrush.

The question of when to control weeds traditionally has been approached with the calculation of critical periods (CP) based on crop yields. The concept of economic critical period (ECP) and early (EEPT) and late (LEFT) economic period thresholds are presented as a comprehensive approach to answer the same question based on economic losses and costs of control. ECP is defined as the period when the benefit of controlling weeds is greater than its cost. EEPT and LEFT are the limits of the ECP and can be used to determine when first and last weed control measures should be performed. Calculation of EEPT accounts for the economic losses due to weed competition that occur between planting and postemergence weed control. In this way it is possible to better evaluate the economic feasibility of using preplant or preemergence control tactics. The EEPT for DCPA application is analyzed in the context of onion production in Colorado. The EEPT for DCPA application was calculated from an empirical regression model that assessed the impact of weed load and time of weed removal on onion yields. The EEPT was affected by control efficacy, weed-free yield, DCPA cost, and onion price. DCPA application was economically advisable in only one of 20 fields analyzed because of the tow DCPA efficacy (60%).

A simulation model was developed to predict the population dynamics and economics of velvetleaf control in a corn-soybean rotation. Data compiled from the literature were used to parameterize the model for two situations, one in which velvetleaf was infected by a Verticillium spp. wilt and one without infection. Verticillium was assumed to have no effect on corn or soybean yield. In the absence of control, simulated seedbank densities of a Verticillium-infected velvetleaf population were 5 to 50 times lower than for an uninfected velvetleaf population. The model was used to evaluate a threshold weed management strategy under the assumption that velvetleaf was the only weed and bentazon the only herbicide available for its control. In the absence of Verticillium, an economic optimum threshold of 2.5 seedlings 100 m−2 afforded the highest economic returns after 20 yr of simulation. Simulations in which velvetleaf was infected in 8 out of 20 randomly assigned years indicated a 6% increase in annualized net return and an 11 % reduction in the number of years that control was necessary. Sensitivity analysis indicated the parameter estimates having the greatest impact on economic optimum threshold were seedling emergence and survival, maximum seed production, and herbicide efficacy. Under an economic optimum threshold of 2.5 seedlings 100 m−2, management practices that manipulate the most sensitive demographic processes increased annualized net return by up to 13% and reduced long-term herbicide use by up to 26%. Results demonstrate that combining an economic optimum threshold with alternative weed management strategies may increase economic return and reduce herbicide use.

Interference studies utilizing natural infestations of broadleaf signalgrass [Brachiaria platyphylla (Griseb.) Nash] in peanuts [Arachis hypogaea (L.) ‘Florigiant′] were conducted at two sites in 1978 and repeated at the same sites in 1979. Full-season interference from broadleaf signalgrass populations of 8, 16, and 1050 plants/10 m of row reduced seed yields 14, 28, and 69%, respectively. Linear regression analysis showed that slightly less than 4 plants/10 m of row significantly reduced yields. Broadleaf signalgrass interference with peanuts for 6 weeks or less after planting did not reduce seed yields; however, interference for 8 weeks or longer after planting did. Peanuts kept weed-free for 6 weeks or more after planting had seed yields equal to peanuts kept weed-free all season. Full-season broadleaf signalgrass interference reduced mature peanut forage yields 64%, but peanut interference only reduced broadleaf signalgrass forage yield 10%.

Field studies were conducted in 1989 and 1990 at St-Augustin, Quebec, Canada, to determine the economic threshold density of quackgrass in potato. Potato yield losses due to quackgrass interference increased with quackgrass population density. Potato yield ranged from 33 to 73% in 1989, and from 19 to 44% in 1990. The relationship between potato yield losses and quackgrass densities was described by a rectangular hyperbolic function. Dry weight of quackgrass proved to be the best predictor of potato yield loss compared to shoot number. The interference thresholds for 10% potato yield loss amounted to 25 shoots m−2 or 20 g total dry biomass m−2. The economic threshold varied between 0.04 and 2 shoots m−2 or 0.0165 and 1.5 g total dry biomass m−2, depending on the variables considered.