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USDA / Agricultural Research Service |
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Invasive Weed Management Unit |
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Home |
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About Us |
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Outreach |
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Research Projects |
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Research Team |
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Publications |
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Links |
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Career |
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Organic Farming
Weeds are the most critical problem for organic producers owing to hand weeding costs, labor scarcity, and lack of alternatives. The research community has been criticized for under-serving the $20-billion organic farming industry. The IWMU is the only USDA facility in the Midwest working on weeds in organic systems.
· The IWMU is providing practical ways to reduce weed seed persistence by examining what controls microbial decay of the seeds and developing methods to increase seed predation and reduce weed seed quantity/quality.
· The IWMU optimized effectiveness of mechanical tools such as a cover crop roller-crimper and intra-row cultivation tools.
· IWMU research discovered cultural approaches to bolster crop competitiveness, and at least one sweet corn program is now breeding explicitly for improved competitive ability with weeds. |
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Weed-suppressive traits, such as crop height, leaf area, and growth rate, vary widely among sweet corn hybrids. Ecologist Marty Williams measures solar radiation intercepted by different sweet corn hybrids to determine how canopy structure affects the crop’s ability to compete with wild proso millet. |
