AGRN 413  Weed Science (Lecture and Laboratory) (2-2)

• Course Description:  General principles in the development of turfgrass and crop weed prevention and management programs are presented.  Common landscape weeds and their life cycles, landscape management factors, herbicide selection and performance, and cultural, biological, mechanical, and chemical control strategies are discussed.  Laboratory includes weed identification and herbicide application methods.  All HORT Majors are required to take this class.

• Course Objectives:  After completing this course, the learner will be able to:

• List characteristics of an ideal weed and problems caused by weeds.
• Describe life cycles of specific weeds and how weeds reproduce and spread.
• Identify methods available for weed management, including preventative, cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical control and how to integrate these weed control strategies into a system which controls unwanted vegetation while minimizing the environmental impact.
• Explain the practical significance of how herbicides enter and translocate within plants.
• Describe the behavior and fate of herbicides in soil.
• List herbicides available for use in specific crops and their basic characteristics (Pre/post, systemic/contact, foliar/root absorbed, selective/nonselective, mode of action, symptomology).
• Outline and explain currently recommended weed management programs for various crops.
• Identify predominant sedges, broadleaf weeds, and grassy weeds.
• Apply weed science principles to the selection and proper use of herbicide application and incorporation equipment, including equipment calibration.
• List the content of and interpret herbicide labels.
• Discuss how plants that are resistant to an herbicide become predominate and how the development of resistant weeds can be avoided.

• Laboratory Objectives: 

1. To be able to list the characteristics of a successful weed.
2. To be able to identify and give examples of common troublesome grassy and broadleaf weeds and describe their life cycles.
3. To be able to determine the area of an assigned landscape and characterize the host plants and weeds and the management and microenvironments which favor the presence of weeds.
4. To be able to assess the environment of the assigned study area and determine how the weed populations can be reduced.  Students calculate the exact amount and cost of the best herbicide required to treat the study area and when and how often they should be applied over a three-year period.  Students suggest changes in management and the microenvironments needed to make the weeds less competitive.