Modelling the effect of spatially variable soil properties on the distribution of weeds.

ABSTRACT: The patch spraying of weeds is an area of precision agriculture that has had limited uptake. This is in part due to the perceived risks associated with not controlling individual weeds. Nevertheless, the inherent patchiness of weeds makes them ideal targets for site-specific management. We propose using a mechanistic model to identify areas of a field vulnerable to invasion by weeds, allowing the creation of treatment maps that are risk averse. We developed a spatially-explicit mechanistic model of the life-cycle of Alopecurus myosuroides, a particularly problematic weed of cereal crops in the UK. In the model, soil conditions which vary across the field, affect the life-cycle of A. myosuroides. The model was validated using data on the within-field distribution of A. myos

SUBMITTER: Metcalfe H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6472614 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature