PlSc 410/510
Biology of Weeds
Fall Semester, 2010
Instructors: Dr. Tim Prather, Associate Professor and Extension Weed Ecologist
Guest Lecturers: TBA
Staff: John Wallace
Office: Agricultural Sciences Building, Room 317
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 1:30 to 2:30 or by appointment. Students can arrange appointments immediately after class, call 885-9246 or email at tprather@uidaho.edu
.
Course objectives: The purpose of this course is to teach students about weed biology principles so they can apply this knowledge to integrated management of weeds. Specific topics include: invasive plant impacts, plant invasion, interactions (plant-plant, plant-animal, plant-fungal), The students will learn weed biology and integrated weed management from lecture presentations and discussions, assigned readings, laboratory exercises, field trips, and greenhouse experiments. This course does not directly address chemical or mechanical weed control.
Prerequisites: Introductory plant physiology (Bot 311) or permission and a good working knowledge of basic plant biology and ecology. Introductory weed control is suggested (PlSc 338).
Text: Ecology of Weeds and Invasive Plants, Radosevich, Holt, and Ghersa, 2007 (suggested for purchase ISBN
978-0-471-76779-4
Testing: There will be three written examinations worth 100 points each. Each exam will consist of an essay section and a short answer multiple choice section. The essay section will be handed out during the class period prior to the in-class exam. Students are required to write their own essay answers but discussion of questions with other students is encouraged. The final examination will be an optional written exam.
Grading: The final grade for the course will be based on the total points accumulated during the term according to the following information. The assignment of letter grades to a specific point total will depend upon the judgment of the instructor. Students enrolled in PlSc 410 will be graded separately from students enrolled in PlSc 510.
Possible Points
Three in-class examinations (100 points each)
Assignments (4)
Integrated Weed Management Plan
Laboratory written reports (6) (points/lab variable)
Final examination
Total
PlSc 410
300
300
100
PlSc 510
300
100 100
150
300
100
800 950
Lecture examinations questions will be based on information covered in lecture and assigned reading materials. In order to receive maximum credit for laboratory written reports, they must be turned in on the assigned dates. Lab reports, entries in your laboratory notebook, and examinations must be written legibly or typed (reports). Students are expected to use correct grammar and spelling when writing their reports and examinations.
Makeup exams will be available only to those students who have an excused absence. At the instructor’s discretion, makeup exams may be written or oral.
Students are responsible for all information presented during each class period. Any assigned reading material, which is on reserve in the UI Library, should be read before the scheduled lecture period. Laboratory attendance is

Sept. 21
Sept. 23
Sept. 28
Sept. 30
Oct. 5
Oct. 7
Oct. 12
Date
Aug. 24
Aug. 26
Aug. 31
Sept. 2
Sept. 7
Sept. 9
Sept. 14
Sept. 16
Oct. 14
Oct. 19
Oct. 21
Oct. 26 mandatory. Each student must keep a bound laboratory notebook. A blank notebook can be purchased at the UI bookstore. Notebook will be examined by the instructor occasionally during the semester.
Biology of Weeds
Approximate Lecture Schedule, Fall Semester, 2010
Topic
Review syllabus, Introduction – Weeds and Invasive Plants, Chapter 1
Principles of weed ecology - Weeds and Invasive Plants, Chapter 2
Plant Invasions - Weeds and Invasive Plants, Chapter 2
Plant Invasions
Dispersal - Spatial - Weeds and Invasive Plants, Chapter 5:142-149
Dispersal - Time - Weeds and Invasive Plants, Chapter 5:149-171
Genetics and evolution of weeds - Weeds and Invasive Plants, Chapter 4 104 -119
Genetics continued
First hour examination - material covered through September 14
Seed Dormancy Chapter 5 Weeds and Invasive Plants 166-182
Principles of plant demographics - Weeds and Invasive Plants, chapter 5
Review Exam, Principles of plant demographics – Weeds and Invasive Plants Chapter 5
Asexual reproduction of weeds – Weeds and Invasive Plants Chapter 5
Asexual reproduction of weeds - John Wallace
Weed and crop interference, and methods to study weed and crop interactions - Weeds and Invasive Plants, chapter 6
Thresholds of competition, and modeling weed/crop interference - Weeds and Invasive
Plants, chapter 6
Other types of interference, Allelopathy - Weeds and Invasive Plants, chapter 6
Other types of interference - Weeds and Invasive Plants, chapter 6
Biologically Intensive Pest Management

Oct. 28
Nov. 2
Nov. 4
Nov. 9
Nov. 11
Nov. 16
Nov. 18
Nov. 30
Dec. 2
Dec. 7
Dec. 9
Dec. 17
Biologically Intensive Pest Management
Second hour examination - material covered from Sept 23 to Oct 28
Preventive weed management - Weeds and Invasive Plants, chapter 7
Weed eradication – Rejmanek and Pitcairn Paper
Mechanical and Cultural Control Weeds and Invasive Plants, chapter 7
Chemical Control Weeds and Invasive Plants, chapter 8
Herbicide-resistant weeds and crops
Weed Risk Assessment, http://www.weedcenter.org/textbook/6_prather_risk.html
Paper Discussion
Third hour examination - material covered from Oct 28 through Nov 30
Paper Discussion
Final examination – 7:30 – 9:30 AM

Date
Aug. 26
Biology of Weed Laboratory Schedule, Fall Semester, 2008
Topic
Weed-crop interference experiment (Due Dec 9) – Crop Spacing and Weed Aggregation
Greenhouse.
Sept 2
Sept. 9
Sept. 16
Sept. 23
Sept. 30
Oct. 7
Meadow hawkweed mycorrhizal experiment (Due Dec 9). Greenhouse .
Weed seed in soil seed bank study (Due Oct. 2). Seed extraction at Plant Science Farm .
Biological Weed Control Lab (Due Sept 30).
Measure plants in competition experiment.
Finish extracting seed .
Measure plants in mycorrhizal experiment.
Plant seeds for seedling emergence study (Due Oct 28)
Measure plants in competition experiments.
Vegetative Reproduction.
Measure plants in mycorrhizal and seedling emergence experiments.
Oct. 14
Oct. 21
Oct. 28
Establish temperature, moisture germination experiment (Due Nov 11).
Measure plants in competition experiments.
Plant Survey Techniques (Due Nov 4). Count germination in lab.
Measure plants in mycorrhizal and seedling emergence experiments.
Nov. 4
Perennial and Annual plant Uptake of Herbicides: Ian Burke
Measure plants in competition experiments. Count germination in lab.
Harvest plants in competition experiment. Count germination in lab.
Nov. 11 Harvest plants in mycorrhizal experiment, weigh plants from competition experiment
Nov. 18 Weigh plants from mycorrhizal experiment. Cleanup greenhouse
Dec 9 Turn-in Lab reports and notebooks
It is the responsibility of the students to maintain their experiments. Students must clean up their own mess and keep work areas clean and neat. All experiments and materials must be labeled clearly with the student’s name and laboratory experiment title. If you have questions about greenhouse procedures, ask the instructor or greenhouse manager . Students usually will work in groups on experiments. It is essential that you keep a detailed record of all aspects of each experiment. You also are expected to keep notes from field trips in your notebook.

Integrated Weed Management Plan - Fall 2008
PlCS 510 (Graduate Students Only)
This assignment is worth 100 points and is an in-class presentation. Each Graduate student will work independently on this project. If you have questions regarding this assignment, ask! Don’t wait until the end of the semester to start the project. This assignment is intended to be a practical, learning tool that will provide students with the opportunity to prepare an integrated weed management plan based on their knowledge of a particular system and weed biology. Your system can be field or row crops, horticultural crops, urban landscape, rangeland, city/state/national parks/, wilderness areas/campgrounds, reclamation sites etc.
Your IWM plan must cover an adequate time period for the system that you have selected. The time period selected needs to be long enough so that the long-term implications of your integrated weed management practices (old adage, 1 year seeding = seven years weeding) can be discussed. The plan needs to include only one field or site.
The size of the field/site should be typical for your system. Choose one weed that you will focus on . Be sure to consider the consequences of your management practices for your selected weed on the other weed(s) in your field/site. Remember, nature does not exist in a vacuum.
You must justify your weed management practice(s). Your justification must be based on an understanding of the system you selected, the effectiveness of the management strategy, the biology of the target weed, and the long-term impact of the strategy on your system. Consider all practical management tactics. In your presentation, discuss why you selected one management tactic versus another.
To prepare an effective IWM plan, you will need a detailed knowledge and understanding of the system, weed, and management tactics. You do not need to keep track of costs or determine economic return, but you should keep in mind that your plan should to be more or less economically feasible.