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Introduction – 2009 Alberta Weed Survey Project
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Updated information on the distribution and abundance of weeds occurring in Alberta annual crops was obtained by
Maurice, O’Donovan and Pickle (1990
from 1987 to 1989, approximately 10 years after the survey organized by
Dew. Different areas of the province were surveyed each year. This second provincial survey in the series
incorporated the three major changes introduced in the Fort Vermilion survey. The provincial survey protocol used
municipalities as the strata rather than farming operations as the strata. The number of randomly selected fields in a
municipality was determined by the relative acreage of crops to be surveyed. Weed data were collected from 1113
fields seeded to spring wheat, winter wheat, barley, oats, fall rye and canola.
The third provincial survey in the series was conducted eight years later in 1997 and summarized in a Weed Survey
Series Report by Thomas, Frick and Hall (1998
. The survey protocol was similar to that used in the previous
survey, with the exception that ecodistricts rather than municipalities were used as the strata in the sampling
procedure. For the first time in the series, the whole province was surveyed in the same year but the target of 800
fields was not achieved. Only 684 fields were surveyed but all major ecoregions were represented. The survey was
restricted to spring wheat, durum, barley, oats and canola in order to provide an adequate number of fields for
reliable summaries of each crop.
The last provincial survey of Alberta was completed in 2001 and summarized in a Weed Survey Series Report by
Leeson, Thomas, and Hall (2002
. While the protocol was similar to the previous survey, more fields were
included. The survey was part of a project to survey 4000 fields across all Prairie Provinces; therefore, the total
number of fields surveyed in Alberta was proportional to the farm area in Alberta relative to Saskatchewan and
Manitoba. Of the allocated 1203 fields, 1153 were surveyed. The survey included the major annual cereal, oilseed
and pulse crops (spring wheat, durum, barley, oats, canola and field pea).
The 2009 Alberta Weed Survey Project
Rationale
While irrigated fields were included in weed surveys prior to 2001, a separate weed survey of irrigated fields has not
been conducted in Alberta. Previous weed surveys have only included major dryland crops; therefore, no data are
available for crops grown only under irrigation. This survey will provide a baseline to enable the detection of future
changes in weed populations in irrigated land in Alberta. A comparison with dryland survey data (planned for 2010)
will emphasize unique weed problems facing producers on irrigated land. These weeds can be targeted for attention
by various agencies involved in weed science. The trends identified by the weed surveys are important to the
research, industry, and extension communities for developing weed management recommendations for producers.
Objective
The objective of the project was to conduct a separate weed survey of irrigated land to measure the species
compositions and population densities of the weed communities in the major crops grown under irrigation in Alberta
in 2009.
Expected benefits of the weed survey
1.
Quantitative field surveys of weed populations are used to reveal the current size, extent, and order of
importance of component species in the province, ecoregions, extension districts, and other spatially defined
areas of interest.
2.
The spatial distributions of the most common species are represented in maps that clearly illustrate areas of high
and low abundance in relation to the physical landscape and jurisdictional areas of the province.
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Maurice, D.C., J.T. O
=
Donovan and D.J. Pickle.
1990. Alberta cereals & oilseeds crop protection survey.
Alberta Agriculture (Unpublished report).
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Thomas, A.G., B.L. Frick and L.M. Hall.
1998. Alberta weed survey of cereal and oilseed crops in 1997. Weed
Survey Series Publication 98-2, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. 241 pp. 41
maps.
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Leeson, J.Y., A.G. Thomas and L.M. Hall.
2002. Alberta weed survey of cereal, oilseed and pulse crops in
2001. Weed Survey Series Publication 02-1, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Centre,
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. 263 pp. 46 maps.