ARS WEED SCIENCE
MEETINGS AND OUTREACH

2022 WSSA-ARS Weed Science Webinar Series

All 10 webinars from the series were recorded and are now available free for viewing at this ARS website.

2024 ARS National Program 304 Plant Protection and Quarantine

Retrospective review in preparation for the 2025-2030 Action Plan (on-going).

Educational Videos/Guides:

Biocontrol against a thirsty invasive grass in arid regions of the U.S. (Albany, CA)
Cheating cheatgrass (Reno, NV)
The Sagebrush Sea – innovative Restoration (Burns, OR)
Wildfire mitigation (Reno, NV)
Cover crops for weed control: the keys for success (Beltsville, MD)

ARS Weed Science Positions

New Hires (TBD)

Weed Ecologist – ARS Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center, Pendleton, OR
Weed Scientist – ARS Northwest Sustainable Agroecosystems Research, Pullman, WA

Current Openings

Weed Scientist/Geneticist – ARS Global Change & Photosynthesis Research Unit, Urbana, IL
Weed Scientist – ARS Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Fort Collins, CO (TBD)
Weed Ecologist – ARS Pest Management Research Unit, Sidney, MT (TBD)

Select ARS Papers (recently published by researchers in weed science)

Wheeler GS, Minteer CR, Palacios J, Halbritter DA, David AS (2024) Pruning Brazilian peppertrees to augment field populations of the biological control agent Pseudophilothrips ichini. Biological Control. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105550
Halbritter DA, Rayamajhi MB, Madeira P, Leidi JG, Telmadarrehei T, Minteer C (2024) Isolation and reinoculation of a gall-inducing fungus in the invasive Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolia) in Florida. Invasive Plant Science and Management. https://doi:10.1017/inp.2024.3
McAvoy TJ, Mays R, Goldstein S, Dray FA, Du YZ, Reardon R, Salom SM (2023) Additional host range testing of Eucryptorrhynchus brandti (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for the biological control of tree-of-heaven, Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae) in the U.S.A. Biocontrol Science and Technology, 18–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2294219
Bitume EV, Rogers DV, Pratt PD, Goolsby JA, Moran PJ (2024) Establishment of the wasp Tetramesa romana for biological control of Arundo donax in northern California and the role of release plot manipulation. Biological Control https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105489
Gaskin JF, West N, Rector BG (2024) Population structure of three invasive congeneric teasel (Dipsacus) species. Invasive Plant Science and Management. 17:37-45. https://doi:10.1017/inp.2024.5
Donovan VM, Beck JL, Wonkka CL, Roberts CP, Allen CR, Twidwell D (2024) Declining pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) population productivity caused by woody encroachment and oil and gas development. Global Ecology and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02848
Baughman O, Rios R, Duquette C, Boyd C, Riginos C, Eshleman M, Kildisheva O (2024) Evaluating different rates of activated carbon in commercially produced seed coatings in laboratory and field trials. Restoration Ecology e14132. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14132
Case MF, Davies KW, Boyd CS, Aoyama L, Merson J, Penkauskas C, Hallett LM (2024) Cross-scale analysis reveals interacting predictors of annual and perennial cover in Northern Great Basin Rangelands. Ecological Applications 34(4):e2953. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2953
Copeland SM, Davies KW, Boyd CS (2024) Sagebrush ecosystems are more than artemisia: the complex issue of degraded understories in the Great Basin. Rangeland Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.03.007
O'Connor RC, Fox VG, Hamerlynck EP (2024) Photosynthetic resilience of Elymus elymoides and Pseudoroegneria spicata seedlings following acute water stress. Rangeland Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.03.012
Schantz MC, Hardegree SP, Sheley RL, Abatzoglou JT, Hegewisch KC, Elias EE, James JJ, Moffet CA (2024) Optimized NMME climate forecasts for rangeland management applications in the Western United States. Rangeland Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.03.008
Davies KW, Boyd CS, Svejcar LN, Martyn TE, Bates JD (2024) Post-fire management decisions have consequences: drill-seeding disturbance and effects of co-seeding introduced with native bunchgrasses. Global Ecology and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03021
Davies KW, Boyd CS, Bates JD, Svejcar LN, Porensky LM (2024) Ecological benefits of strategically applied livestock grazing in sagebrush communities. Ecosphere 15(5):e4859. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4859
Soltani A, Ospanov M, Ibrahim ZA, Bajsa-Hirschel J, Cantrell CL, Cizdziel JV, Khan IA, Ibrahim MA (2024) Menthalactone from Mentha piperita L., a monocot-selective bioherbicide. International Journal of Plant Biology. 15:293-303. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijpb15020025
Huddell A, Needelman B, Law EP, Ackroyd VJ, Bagavathiannan MV, Bradley K, Davis AS, Evans JA, Everman WJ, Flessner M, Jordan N, Schwartz-Lazaro LM, Leon RG, Lindquist J, Norsworthy JK, Shergill LS, VanGessel M, Mirsky SB (2024) Early-season biomass and weather enable robust cereal rye cover crop biomass predictions. Agricultural & Environmental Letters. 9, e20121. https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.20121
Fulcher MR, Tancos MA, Mueller RC, Tannières M (2024) Importance of pathobiomes to the success of microbial weed biocontrol agents. Biological Control https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105498
Croghan L, Smith AG, Tancos MA, Anderson NO, Becker RL (2023) Benefits and risks of gene drives for invasive plant management - the case for common tansy. Frontiers Agronomy. https://doi.org/10.3389/fagro.2023.1290781
Fulcher M, Staley C (2024) Fungal plant pathogen Colletotrichum shisoi identified as a potential biological control agent of invasive Perilla frutescens in the United States. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 34:375–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2024.2343110
Fulcher MR, Little RC (2024) Development and application of the fungal plant pathogen Colletotrichum shisoi to control invasive Perilla frutescens. Biological Control. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2024.105543