EVENTS and ANNOUNCEMENTS

ARS Meetings/Conferences/Webinars/Symposia

2022 WSSA-ARS Weed Science Webinar Series 

• All 10 webinars from the series were recorded and are now available free for viewing at this ARS website.

2024 ARS National Program 304 Plant Protection and Quarantine

• Retrospective review in preparation for the 2025-2030 Action Plan. Please submit comments, concerns, and/or suggestions at the website.

Educational Videos/Guides:

• Biocontrol against a thirsty invasive grass in arid regions of the U.S. (Albany, CA)
• Cheating cheatgrass (Reno, NV)
• The Sagebrush Sea – innovative Restoration (Burns, OR)
• Wildfire mitigation (Reno, NV)
• Cover crops for weed control: the keys for success (Beltsville, MD)

ARS Weed Science Positions

Recent Hires:

• Casey Barickman – ARS Natural Products Utilization Research Unit, Oxford, MS
• Olivia Landau – ARS Wheat Health, Genetics, and Quality Research Unit, Pullman, WA
• Jens Beets – ARS Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit, Albany, CA
• Vijaya Varanasi – ARS Crop Production Systems Unit, Stoneville, MS
• Allen Dray – ARS Invasive Plant Research Unit, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Current Openings:

• Weed Ecologist – ARS Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center, Pendleton, Oregon (TBD)
• Weed Scientist – ARS Northwest Sustainable Agroecosystems Research Unit, Pullman, Washington (TBD)

Select ARS Papers (recently published by researchers in weed science)

• Ashley B. C. Goode, Philip W. Tipping, F. Allen Dray Jr., Ryann J. Valmonte, Brittany K. Knowles & Eileen Pokorny (2023) Effects of invasive plant haplotypes on a biological control agent (Lepidelphax pistiae) fecundity and impact, Biocontrol Science and Technology, 33:11, 1041-1050, DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2272229
• Linhao Xu, Ashley B.C. Goode, Philip W. Tipping, Melissa C. Smith, Lyn A. Gettys, Brittany K. Knowles, Eileen Pokorny, Luz Salinas, Donald L. DeAngelis (2024) Less is more: Less herbicide does more when biological control is present in Pontederia crassipes. Ecological Modelling, 487, 110566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110566
• G.S. Wheeler, E.C. Lake, E. Mattison, G.F. Sutton (2024) Host range, biology, and climate suitability of Callopistria exotica, a potential biological control agent of Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum) in the USA. Biological Control 188: 105410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105410
• Smith, M.C., Julian, P., DeAngelis, D., Zhang, B. Ecological benefits of integrative weed management of Melaleuca quinquenervia in Big Cypress National Preserve. BioControl (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-023-10229-y
• Dale A. Halbritter, Eutychus Kariuki, Gregory S. Wheeler, Min B. Rayamajhi, Carey Minteer, Quentin D. Read (2024) Changes in plant architecture in Brazilian peppertree damaged by the biological control agent, Pseudophilothrips ichini (Hood) (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae). Biological Control 188:105434 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105434

• Preiss, V.D., Wonkka, C.L., McGranahan, D.A., Lodge, A.G., Dickinson, M.B., Kavanagh, K.L. et al. (2023) Exotic herbivores and fire energy drive standing herbaceous biomass but do not alter compositional patterns in a semiarid savanna ecosystem. Applied Vegetation Science, 26, e12749. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12749
• West, N.M., Branson, D.H., Muscha, J.M., & Campbell, J.W. (2023). Early Impacts of Invasive Shrub Removal on Riparian Arthropod Communities. Ecological Restoration 41(4), 189-198. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/911493
• Donovan, V. M., Crandall, R., Fill, J., & Wonkka, C. L. (2023). Increasing large wildfire in the eastern United States. Geophysical Research Letters, 50, e2023GL107051. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107051
• McGranahan, D.A.; Wonkka, C.L. (2024) Pyrogeography of the Western Great Plains: A 40-Year History of Fire in Semi-Arid Rangelands. Fire, 7, 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire7010032
• Kirk W. Davies, Chad S. Boyd, Lauren N. Svejcar, Danielle R. Clenet (2024) Long-term effects of revegetation efforts in annual grass−invaded rangeland. Rangeland Ecology & Management 92:59-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2023.10.001
• Corinna M. Holfus, Chad S. Boyd, Roxanne C. Rios, Kirk W. Davies, Stella M. Copeland, Ricardo Mata-González (2024) Wyoming big sagebrush transplant survival and growth affected by age, season of planting, and competition. Rangeland Ecology & Management 92:1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2023.09.005
• Na-Bo Sun, Li-Jing Min, Xin-Peng Sun, Zhi-Wen Zhai, Joanna Bajsa-Hirschel, Zhe-Cheng Wei, Xue-Wen Hua, Charles L. Cantrell, Hao Xu, Stephen O. Duke, and Xing-Hai Liu (2024) Novel Pyrazole Acyl(thio)urea Derivatives Containing a Biphenyl Scaffold as Potential Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, Fungicidal Activity, and SAR. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 72:2512-2525. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.3c07735
• Rebong, D., Henriquez Inoa, S., Moore, V. M., Reberg-Horton, S. C., Mirsky, S., Murphy, J. P., & Leon, R. G. (2023). Breeding allelopathy in cereal rye for weed suppression. Weed Science, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2023.64
• Williams, M.M., II, Hausman, N.E., Saballos, A., Landau, C.A., Brooks, M.D., Flannery, P., Tracy, W.F. and Thompson, C.J. (2024), First report of severe tolpyralate sensitivity in corn (Zea mays) discovers a novel genetic factor conferring crop response to a herbicide. Pest Manag Sci, 80: 1645-1653. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.7896
• Joanne C. Chee-Sanford, Lynn M. Connor (2023) Comparison of microbial community assemblages in the rhizosphere of three Amaranthus spp. PLOS One https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294966
• Christopher Landau, Kevin Bradley,…Martin M Williams, (2023) The silver bullet that wasn’t: Rapid agronomic weed adaptations to glyphosate in North America, PNAS Nexus. 2:pgad338 https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad338
• Young, Stephen L., James V. Anderson, Scott R. Baerson, Joanna Bajsa-Hirschel, Dana M. Blumenthal, Chad S. Boyd, Clyde D. Boyette, Eric B. Brennan, Charles L. Cantrell, Wun S. Chao, Joanne C. Chee-Sanford, Charlie D. Clements, F. Allen Dray, Stephen O. Duke, Kayla M. Eason, Reginald S. Fletcher, Michael R. Fulcher, John F. Gaskin, Brenda J. Grewell, Erik P. Hamerlynck, Robert E. Hoagland, David P. Horvath, Eugene P. Law, John D. Madsen, Daniel E. Martin, Clint Mattox, Steven B. Mirsky, William T. Molin, Patrick J. Moran, Rebecca C. Mueller, Vijay K. Nandula, Beth A. Newingham, Zhiqiang Pan, Lauren M. Porensky, Paul D. Pratt, Andrew J. Price, Brian G. Rector, Krishna N. Reddy, Roger L. Sheley, Lincoln Smith, Melissa C. Smith, Keirith A. Snyder, Matthew A. Tancos, Natalie M. West, Gregory S. Wheeler, Martin M. Williams, Julie Wolf, Carissa L. Wonkka, Alice A. Wright, Jing Xi, Lew H. Ziska (2023) Agricultural Research Service weed science research: past, present, and future. Weed Science 71: 312–27. https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2023.31