WWCC COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Identifier: AGPR 105
Year Quarter: Winter 2015
Course Title: Weed Biology and Identification
Item Number:
Instructor Name: Gwen K. Stahnke
Office Phone: 509-527-4225
Office Hours: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. - Daily
Office Location: 1206 Tech Center
Email Address: gwen.stahnke@wwcc.edu
Number of Credits: 5
Teaching Format: Lecture
Prerequisites: None
Name of Textbook: Weeds of the West, 2000, Western Society of Weed Science Publ.
Course Description:
An introductory course in weed science. Designed to provide an understanding of the principles and
methods of controlling weeds, use and development of herbicides, methods of application and rate
calculations, sprayer components and calibration, and practical knowledge of plant and seed samples of
weeds common to the Pacific Northwest.
Location: ALL
Course Topics :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction to Weed Science
Plant Morphology/Taxonomy
Classification, Identification and Spread of Weeds
Methods of Weed Control
Principles of Herbicide Usage and Selectivity
Herbicide Application
7. Herbicide Resistance
Intended Learning Outcomes: The student will be able to:
A. Identify when a plant is a weed or not a weed depending on where it is growing.
B. Identify the costs of controlling weeds, when given a crop and the problem weeds, to a dollar per acre
basis.
C. Describe the competition factors of weeds to crops in a classroom situation when given the type and size
of weed, to include nutrients, water, and available space requirements on a yield reduction per acre basis.
D. Recognize the type of leaf arrangement, veination pattern, margin pattern and type of leaf attachment,
when given a plant sample.
E. Place plants into their proper taxonomic family based on external morphology.
F. Identify crop plants and weeds which are members of the same taxonomic family.
G. Classify weeds by life cycle into, the categories of winter annual, summer annual, biennial and perennial
when provided with an identification list.
H. Define the means of spread or dispersal of that weed when given a plant sample.
I. Classify means by which weeds spread into sexual or asexual when given an example structure in class.
J. Trace the life cycle from plant to seed and back to plant within acceptable criteria as outlined in class if
given a particular weed.
K. Classify the practice to control weeds into: chemical, biological, or physical.
L. Identify the proper control method to use depending upon the stage of development when given a weed
sample.
M. Develop an integrated weed control program that will adequately control the weed population when
given a certain crop and the weeds that are considered problems.
N. Classify herbicide application methods into pre-plant, pre-emergence, or post-emergence.
O. Select the proper time of application for a herbicide when given the weeds to be controlled and the crop
in which they are located.
P. Classify its mode of action into one of four broad categories as discussed in class when given a sample
peaticide.
Q. Identify the proper application method to use for effective control of a given weed problem.
R. Identify the type of formulation for a herbicide when given a sample of the product and the label.
S. Describe the mode of action for surfactants and the reasons for using them in herbicide formulations.
T. Identify all of the component parts of a sprayer to include tank, agitator, pump, boom, nozzles, and
bypass line.
U. Perform calculations to determine the amount of herbicide to add to the spray tank and the amount of
chemical applied to the target area with 1% tolerance limits when given a sample problem.
V. Prepare a herbicide mixture in a spray tank and apply it to the target area at the proper rate of application
when in an actual situation.
W. Demonstrate an appreciation for safe handling and use of herbicides in a field situation by identifying
unsafe acts as they occur.
X. Develop an understanding of herbicide resistance in plants and be able to identify the factors which
regulate development of resistance in a plant population.
Y. Recognize the methods which a grower can use to delay and/or avoid development of herbicide
resistance in their weed control program.
Student Learning Assessment Strategy:
Two lecture exams, five identification quizzes, and an identification final will be given. Students will be
required to collect and mount weed samples outside of class time*. Grades will be calculated on a total point
basis earned during the course and based on a percentage of 600 total points.
*Weed Collection: You will be given or mailed a plant press to use for your weeds collection. These plant
presses must be returned by the end of the quarter or you will be blocked from registering for the next
quarter. Make sure to update your mailing addresses and personal e-mail addresses with admissions in
order to make this process easier for you.
Point scale:
Lecture exams - 200
Identification quizzes - 200
Sample collection - 100
Identification final - 100
Letter grades will be earned according to the following:
>93% = A;
90-92% = A-;
87-89% = B+;
83-86% = B;
80-82% = B-;
77-79% = C+;
73-76% = C;
70-72% = C-;
67-69% = D+;
60-66% = D;
< 60% = F.
Instructor reserves the right to curve the grade.
If you have a disability and need academic accommodations, please see the instructor and/or contact
the Disabilities Coordinator, Claudia Angus, in the Student Development Center.
Class Outline:
SUBJECT
1.
INTRODUCTION TO WEED SCIENCE
Weed Seed Characteristics
Means of Dispersal
Competition Factors
2.
METHODS OF WEED CONTROL
Prevention
Cultural/Physical
Biological
Chemical
3.
HERBICIDES AND THE SOIL
Fate of Soil Applied Herbicides
Herbicide Residue/Persistence
4.
HERBICIDES AND THE PLANT
Absorption
Translocation
Sites of Activity
5.
HERBICIDE PERSISTENCE/RESISTANCE
Weed Persistence
Crop Tolerance
6.
HERBICIDE FORMULATIONS/SURFACTANTS
Types of Formulations
How Surfactants Work
7.
SPRAYER CALIBRATION/CALCULATIONS
Calibration Steps
Rate and Tank Mix Calculations
REFERENCES
Pacific Northwest Weed Control Handbook, WSU Extension Publication.
Herbicide Handbook, Weed Science of America.
Weeds of Eastern Washington, Gaines and Swan, Camp-Na-Bor-Lee.
Nebraska Weeds, Nebraska State Department of Agriculture.
Weeds of Utah, Holmgren, A.H., Anderson, B.A., Utah State University.
Growers Weed Identification Handbook, Cooperative Extension Service, University of California, Berkeley.
Gilkey’s Weed Identification Handbook, Dennis, L.J., Oregon State.
Methods of Applying Herbicides, Weed Science Society of America.
Weed Identification Guide, Southern Weed Science Society.
Applied Weed Science, 1999 – Prentice – Hall – Ross, M.A.