USDA Regional IPM Centers

Grants to support Integrated Pest Management

Project Overview

NC23-WG03
Project Type: IPM Centers Grant
Funds awarded in 2023: $16,611.00
Grant Recipient: Kansas State University
Region: North Central
State: Kansas
Cooperating States: none
Project Coordinator:
Sarah Lancaster
Kansas State University

War Against Weeds Podcast – Outreach to Increase Awareness of Integrated Weed Management Strategies

Commodities

  • Agronomic: canola, corn, cotton, cover crops, hay, peas (field, cowpeas), small grain, sorghum (milo), soybeans, sunflower, wheat

Target Pests

No target pests identified (required to submit report)

For projects that don't address specific target pest, click this button.

Practices

  • Pest Management: allelopathy, chemical control, competition, cultivation, cultural control, economic threshold, genetic resistance, mechanical control, pesticide application timing, pesticide resistance management, pesticides, precision pesticide use, sanitation, weed ecology
  • Crop Production: cover crops, crop rotation, cropping systems, double cropping, no-till
  • Production Systems: agroecosystems

Proposal abstract:

Herbicide resistant weeds are a top concern for corn and soybean producers across the United States, with over 200 cases confirmed in the North Central region. However, many farmers do not fully appreciate the importance of using integrated practices to manage herbicide-resistant weed populations. Podcasting is one increasingly popular communication tool that can be used to reach a diverse audience with weed management information. The War Against Weeds podcast was developed in 2021 to share information about integrated weed management and its role in mitigating herbicide resistant weeds. To date, nearly 60 episodes have been released in cooperation with weed scientists and agronomists from around the world. The podcast has been downloaded over 18,000 times. A listener survey was conducted during 2021 and 2022. Seventy-seven percent of survey respondents said that the War Against Weeds podcast is extremely effective or very effective at communicating weed management information. Twenty-five percent of respondents said they have changed a weed management practice or recommendation as a result of listening to the podcast and another 31% said they are considering making a change. The War Against Weeds podcast working group is looking forward to developing additional episodes during 2023 and 2023 and continuing to improve the quality and impacts of the podcast.

Project objectives from proposal:

The objectives of the War Against Weeds Working Group are:

  1. Provide weed management information in an accessible and enjoyable format to a diverse audience
  2. Increase interactions with podcast audience
  3. Increase interactions among scientists working on weed-management related problems
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Regional IPM Centers.