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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Urbana, Illinois » Global Change and Photosynthesis Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #282237
Title: Weed management practice selection among Midwest U.S. organic growers

Author
item DEDECKER, JAMES - University Of Illinois
item MASIUNAS, JOHN - University Of Illinois
item Davis, Adam
item FLINT, COURTNEY - University Of Illinois

Submitted to: Weed Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2014
Publication Date: 9/1/2014
Citation: DeDecker, J.J., Masiunas, J.B., Davis, A.S., Flint, C.G. 2014. Weed management practice selection among Midwest U.S. organic growers. Weed Science. 62:520-531.

Interpretive Summary: Organic agriculture may be the most promising context for application of integrated weed management (IWM) due to philosophical similarities between these two approaches to the “ecologization” of agriculture. However, adoption of IWM on organic farms is poorly understood due to limited data on weed management practices, the lack of any agreed-upon IWM metric, and insufficient consideration given to the unique farming contexts within which weed management decisions are made. Therefore, this study aimed to (i) characterize organic weed management systems; (ii) identify motivations for, and barriers to, selection of weed management practices; and (iii) generate guiding principles for effective targeting of weed management outreach. We surveyed Midwestern organic growers to determine how specified psychosocial, demographic, and farm structure factors influence selection of weed management practices. Multivariate analysis of the data identified three primary approaches to organic weed management. These approaches were distinguished by farmers' philosophical perspective regarding weeds and the number of weed management practices used. The inclusion of individual farms within the identified approaches was influenced by what a farm produces as well as farmer education, years farming, and information seeking behavior. Our findings can help to improve weed management education to foster better compatibility of farming contexts and weed management technologies.

Technical Abstract: Organic agricultural systems increase the complexity of weed management, leading organic farmers to cite weeds as the greatest barrier to organic production. Integrated Weed Management (IWM) systems have been developed to address the ecological implications of weeds and weed management in cropping systems, but adoption is minimal. Organic agriculture may be the most promising context for application of IWM due to philosophical similarities between these two approaches to the “ecologization” of agriculture. However, adoption of IWM on organic farms is poorly understood due to limited data on weed management practices, the lack of any agreed-upon IWM metric, and insufficient consideration given to the unique farming contexts within which weed management decisions are made. Therefore, this study aimed to (i) characterize organic weed management systems; (ii) identify motivations for, and barriers to, selection of weed management practices; and (iii) generate guiding principles for effective targeting of weed management outreach. We surveyed Midwestern organic growers to determine how specified psychosocial, demographic, and farm structure factors influence selection of weed management practices. Cluster analysis of the data identified three disparate, yet scaled, approaches to organic weed management. Clusters were distinguished by philosophical perspective regarding weeds and the number of weed management practices used. Categorization of individual farms within the identified approaches was influenced by what a farm produces as well as farmer education, years farming, and information seeking behavior. The proposed model allows weed management education to target enhanced compatibility of farming contexts and weed management technologies.