AlertInf is a recently developed model to predict the daily emergence of
three important weed species in maize cropped in northern Italy (common
lambsquarters, johnsongrass, and velvetleaf). Its use can improve the
effectiveness and sustainability of weed control, and there has been growing
interest from farmers and advisors. However, there are two important limits
to its use: the low number of weed species included and its applicability
only to maize. Consequently, the aim of this study was to expand the
AlertInf weed list and extend its use to soybean. The first objective was to
add another two important weed species for spring-summer crops in Italy,
barnyardgrass and large crabgrass. Given that maize and soybean have
different canopy architectures that can influence the interrow microclimate,
the second objective was to compare weed emergence in maize and soybean sown
on the same date. The third objective was to evaluate if AlertInf was
transferable to soybean without recalibration, thus saving time and money.
Results showed that predictions made by AlertInf for all five species
simulated in soybean were satisfactory, as shown by the high efficiency
index (EF) values, and acceptable from a practical point of view. The fact
that the algorithm used for estimating weed emergence in maize was also
efficient for soybean, at least for crops grown in northeastern Italy with
standard cultural practices, encourages further development of AlertInf and
the spread of its use.